IPH engineers tap two new water sources

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 1

Engineers working with the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department have tapped two new water sources -- Koti Brandi and Been Khuds -- to solve the water crisis. In just 45 days, they laid down 3-km pipeline to supply about 5 MLD water to the state capital.

"Now, the city will get about 40 MLD of water daily, tiding over the shortage in the peak summer months," said officials of the Shimla Municipal Corporation and IPH engineers. After getting samples tested from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the engineers started lifting water from the Koti-Brandi and Been water sources to feed Kasumpti.

“We started the work on the Rs 2 crore project on March 31 and today we have supplied 1.5 MLD water to the water tank in Kasumpti," said Dharmender Gill, Executive Engineer, IPH, Shimla. “The Koti-Brandi Khud will supply 4.76 MLD water while the Been Khud will add 0.9 MLD water daily," he said.

Gill said they laid the 3-km 8-inch pipeline from Koti-Brandi, 5 inch pipeline from Been and linked them to the pumping house in 45 days. “The water sampling and testing took 15 days as the reports were awaited," he added.

The IPH Department has added about 3.15 MLD of water daily to its existing supply of about 37 MLD being given in the city every day. “The water capacity from the new water sources will increase to about 5 MLD as the water discharge in the khuds will increase during the rainy season," said the engineers.

The civic body would continue to supply water to the city on alternate days till the stabilisation of water supply and distribution, said Pankaj Rai, Municipal Commissioner. Residents of New Shimla, Kasumpti, Chhota Shimla, Vikas Nagar, Mehli and other areas will get water from the tank in Kasumpti. Rai said the supply from the Ashwani Khud would remain suspended. A few engineers and the contractors were jailed after untreated water was released from the Malyana sewage treatment plant into the Ashwani Khud.