New Ganga water plant to supply to Noida, Gzb as trial run starts this week

According to officials, the new plant will supply approximately 37.5 cusecs to sectors 133, 134, 122, and 135 in Noida, with the remainder going to Siddharth Vihar Township in Ghaziabad

This week, various localities in Noida and Ghaziabad will begin receiving “intermittent” Ganga water supplies from the new 50 cusec water treatment plant built at Pratap Vihar in Ghaziabad. Officials from the executing agency, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, said on Wednesday that when the new plant’s trial run is completed in four months, 24-hour supplies will be available.

The new plant was built at a cost of ₹304 crore and was expected to be operational by the end of 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic slowed progress, and a land issue has delayed the trial run, which was scheduled to begin in April. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The new plant was built at a cost of ₹304 crore and was expected to be operational by the end of 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic slowed progress, and a land issue has delayed the trial run, which was scheduled to begin in April.

According to officials, the new plant will supply approximately 37.5 cusecs to sectors 133, 134, 122, and 135, among others, in Noida, with the remainder of the water going to Siddharth Vihar Township in Ghaziabad.

“The trial run for the new plant was supposed to begin in April, but laying the pipeline through a patch of 83 square feet in Dasna caused delays. It is private property, and a 15-metre stretch of pipeline is installed there. We are attempting to acquire land there. However, the new plant will undergo test runs this week and for the next four months. The water supply will start intermittently during the test run. Once the trial is over, there will be a 24-hour water supply,” said Unmesh Shukla, an executive engineer from Construction and Design Services, a unit of UP Jal Nigam.

Ghaziabad’s Ganga water treatment facility has two old functional plants with capacities of 50 and 100 cusecs. According to officials, the 50 cusec plant supplies 60% of the water to Ghaziabad and the rest to Noida, while the other 100 cusec plant provides 80% of the water to Noida and the rest to Ghaziabad.

“The new plant went into pre-trial in March/April, and during that time, we discovered some leakage, which we fixed. The plant will now be tested this week, ensuring uninterrupted water supply. During the trial period, we will conduct various tests to ensure everything runs smoothly before full-fledged water supplies begin,” Shukla added.

The treated Ganga water is delivered to the two cities via the Upper Ganga Canal, which receives water from Haridwar. Water from the Upper Ganga Canal is delivered to Pratap Vihar via water supply pipelines installed alongside National Highway 9.