With the beginning of the new year, the 24×7 canal-based water supply project has picked up pace as soon demo zones will be established in the city to provide residents water round the clock.
According to officials, the purpose of creating demo zones is to make preparations to deal with challenges that may arise in the future. It will also help check the actual consumption, they added.
The Sarabha Nagar-Gurdev Nagar area has been selected as the first demo zone. To supply water to these areas, a water storage tank is being built in Leisure Valley, Sarabha Nagar, which is expected to be ready by March. It may take an additional three months to provide water connections to residents. Therefore, the trial may start in the demo zone from June. As per sources, the capacity of the water storage tanks being prepared for the first demo zone is more than 1,800 kilo litres. From this storage tank, water supply will reach around 2,000 households in Sarabha Nagar and Gurdev Nagar.
Some areas of Maharaj Nagar and Ghumar Mandi have been selected for the second demo zone. The storage tank for these is likely to be built in Punjab Agricultural University. The officials of the operation and maintenance cell working on this project said it will take time to set up a water treatment plant in Bilga village for supply of canal water. Providing canal water supply to more than 17 lakh population of the city is also a challenge, they added. Therefore, before streamlining such a big system, demo zones are being created. For now, water will be supplied through tube wells from the water storage tank being built for the purpose. When the water treatment plant in Bilga village is ready, the supply of canal water will begin.
