Mani Majra set to get 24x7 water supply from next month

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, October 31

From December, residents of Mani Majra will start getting 24×7 water supply, a first in the city. According to the Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL), the project completion date of the round-the-clock water supply pilot project in Mani Majra is December 17. Of the total 21 km length, the pipeline to supply water to the area has already been laid on 13 km. About 75 per cent work of constructing two underground water reservoirs (UGRs) has been completed. Each reservoir will have a capacity of 2 million gallons per day (MGD).

Other advantages of project

• Smart meters will end MC staff’s visit to houses to take readings
• Accuracy rate of new meters will be 100 per cent
• The project will save MC manpower and billing cost
• There will be no water contamination; water wastage will reduce

While of the total 12,700 ordinary water meters to be replaced, 10,700 have already been replaced with ultrasonic smart water meters and work on the remaining ones is on. With the installation of ultrasonic smart water meters, the staff of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) will not have to visit houses to take the reading. The reading will be visible on the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. The system will give not only monthly reading but also daily consumption figures. Besides, the accuracy rate of new meters will be 100 per cent. The project will save on manpower and billing cost.

Areas to be covered

Modern Housing Complex, Shivalik Enclave, Indira Colony, Shastri Nagar, Old Mani Majra

The project will benefit a population of 1,09,000 in Mani Majra for now. Modern Housing Complex (MHC), Shivalik Enclave, Indira Colony, Shastri Nagar and Old Mani Majra will be covered under the pilot project.

“Remaining parts of Mani Majra will get covered under the ongoing pan-city 24×7 water supply project,” said an official.

The corporation has already invited request for proposal (RFP) from six selected agencies for providing long-term technical assistance (LTTA) for the Rs 510-crore project. The project will have Rs 412 crore AFD’s soft loan and Rs 98 crore European Union’s grant. The loan will be paid by the residents in their soon-to-be increased monthly bills.

The CSCL had allocated the Mani Majra pilot project to SBE Engineering and Infrastructure Private Limited for Rs 162 crore. It includes Rs 70.77 crore as capital cost and Rs 91.30 crore cost of operations and maintenance of water supply for 15 years.

Besides providing 24-hour supply to the area, the project will end the problem of water contamination. The water wastage will be reduced from 35% to 15% as the chances of leakage in supply lines will be minimised.