Bye to water shortage as supply from Sonia Vihar begins tomorrow

New Delhi, Aug 7 (UNI) The dream of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit of meeting water shortage in Delhi is all set to be realised tomorrow as the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) gets ready to release the first installment of 65 MGD of water from the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant to the water-parched areas of the capital.

Sources in the DJB told UNI that 65 MGD of water from the plant would be released to areas in South and East Delhi that have been facing recurrent water shortages.

''Delhi Jal Board will be releasing water for the citizens of Delhi from the Sonia Vihar WTP on a trial basis from tomorrow. Water supply would be released to large parts of South and East Delhi.

Initially, around 65 MGD of water will be released and this quantity will be augmented in phases, once the system stabilizes,''a DJB release said.

The release of 65 MGD of water, the first step in the direction of supply of an additional 140 MGD to various areas in the capital, is a significant step to meet water needs of Delhi, the sources said.

An estimated 40 lakh people on the capital stand to benefit from the additional water supply, the board sources said.

The sources added that the fleshing of the 300 cusecs of raw water, released by Uttar Pradesh to the plant on June 28, was almost over and the water would be made available to the residents of East and South Delhi by tomorrow morning.

''Fleshing of the 300 cusecs of water released by Uttar Pradesh is almost complete and the supply will be made to the residents of East and south Delhi early tomorrow morning,''sources added.

Work on testing of the underground reservoirs and pipelines for supplying water from the treatment plant has been going on for the past one month.

All the existing underground reservoirs, transmission and feeder mains and other peripheral and distribution network were tested so that the ability to absorb the additional quantum of water in terms of pumping hours, supply duration and pressure was thoroughly assessed.

Planned in 2000 to meet the water requirements of a population of 3.5 to 4 million people in South and East Delhi, the Sonia Vihar state-of-the-art water treatment plant, with a capacity of 635 million litres per day (140 MGD), will take care of the present water shortages in the capital.

Delhi's present water supply of 670 MGD is far short of the total requirement of 900 MGD. However, the commissioning of the Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant is expected to enhance water supply by 25 per cent.

The 28 underground reservoirs and booster pumping stations connected with the plant are intended to ensure availability of water in a rational and equitable manner.

Work on testing of the underground reservoirs and pipelines for supplying water from the treatment plant has been on for the past one month.

The plant had been set into operation by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on May 22 after Uttar Pradesh had released 70 cusecs of water to the Sonia Vihar Plant as per an agreement with the Delhi government.

Though the Chief Minister had then promised that the water would reach the people of Delhi by July, the delay in the release of the entire quantity of 300 cusecs of water by Uttar Pradesh had led to a delay in water supply.

UNI AR KD BD1912