Kolkata: The state Public Health Engineering (PHE) department is taking up Rs 1,700 crore project to ensure sustainable round-the-year supply of safe drinking water at a vast area of Bankura to benefit almost 8 lakh people. This comes ahead of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees scheduled visit to Bankura where she will be holding the districts administrative review meeting followed by a public rally on November 24 and 25. Saumen Mahapatra, the state PHE minister, said: "Our endeavour is to provide safe drinking water to all 2.5 crore households in the state. A huge work is going on in Jangalmahal districts including Bankura and Purulia where a series of projects being taken up to ensure the same." The Mamata Banerjee government has already ensured supply of safe drinking water at the households of 70 percent population of the district in 14 blocks with implementation of Rs 1,100 crore worth project. There are total 22 blocks in Bankura. Implementation of another Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded project worth Rs 1,218 crore is also going on in full swing to provide the same to the residents of four other blocks – Taldangra, Indpur, Mejia and Gangajalghati. Now, the state PHE department has decided to take up another major project to ensure round-the-year supply of sufficient safe drinking water to the residents of the remaining four blocks – Sonamukhi, Patrasayar, Kotolpur and Joypur. "As discussed it will also be an ADB funded project that will benefit at least 8 lakh people. The basic work starting from planning to preparation of detailed project report (DPR) is complete. The work will be started soon after the necessary clearances are received," said a senior officer adding, that the uniqueness of all these projects is that the sources of water are perennial rivers and reservoirs in dams. It ensures round-the-year supply of water in a drought prone district like Bankura. At least 14 out of 22 blocks are fluoride affected. These projects are also going to an end to the menace as hardly underground water is being used as source at the water treatment plants under these projects. The state government has set target of provided tap water connection at 30 lakh houses across the state by the end of the current fiscal under Jal Swapna project and it include at least 3 lakh households in Bankura itself. Already, tap water connection has been provided to 4.5 lakh households under Jal Swapna project in the past few months. Mahapatra further said that another project worth Rs 1,000 crore is going to start for tap water connection at households is going to start in Purulia. Similarly, another project worth Rs 3,000 crore is going to be inaugurated soon for Birbhum and Murshidabad.

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