Noida sectors to get Ganga water by November

NOIDA: Work on the Ganga water supply project for several sectors in Noida has received a new deadline of November 2021, officials of Noida authority said on Friday. The project was supposed to be complete by November last year.

As of now, residents of sectors 112, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 128, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 137, 143, 144, 145B, 146, 147, 151 and 168, among some other areas, are provided ground water, which is saline and does not taste good.

The Noida authority currently procures 240 million litre daily (MLD) Ganga water to most of the sectors in the city. It also procures some groundwater when the Upper Ganga canal, that supplies the water to Noida, is cleaned, which happens in the month of November every year, said the officials.

Work on the project, to supply Ganga water to households in the above mentioned sectors, was started in March 2018. However, work to lay the pipeline was delayed due to Metro construction work in Sector 62 and other areas, said officials.

“We have completed 67% of the work on this project and have put works on fast track, so that the project can be completed by November-end this year and residents can be supplied Ganga water,” said Rajiv Tyagi, chief general manager of the Noida authority.

When the pipeline comes into operation, Noida will get an additional 90 MLD of Ganga water thus reducing dependence on ground water.

Officials said that Noida’s population is expected to increase to about 2.5 million in a couple of years,and the water capacity of the city needs to be expanded in anticipation of the growing demand. At present, the city has a total of 165 sectors with an estimated population of around two million.

“With this project, we want to increase Ganga water availability from the existing 240 MLD to 330 MLD in order to meet the water demands that will come from the upcoming residential areas along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway as well as other parts of the city,” Tyagi said.

The UttarPradesh Jal Nigam requires an estimated ₹200 crore to finish this project.

“We are providing 56% Ganga water and 44% groundwater to Noida. In the future too, this ratio of 56:44 will continue,” said Tyagi.