Ganga water supply shut in Noida, Ghaziabad

Supply will be suspended from Tuesday morning due to the shutting down of Upper Ganga Canal in Haridwar.

The Ganga water supply to Noida and Ghaziabad will be suspended from Tuesday morning as the Upper Ganga Canal in Haridwar has been shut due to excessive silt deposits from heavy rain in Uttarakhand.

The Ganga water treatment plant at Pratap Vihar will not get supply as the Upper Ganga Canal in Haridwar is shut. (HT File Photo)

Officials of Ganga water treatment plant in Pratap Vihar, the supply is expected to be suspended until Thursday.

“Heavy rain in Uttarakhand has resulted in silt deposition in the Upper Ganga Canal. The state’s irrigation department shut the canal late Sunday night but only informed us about it on Monday afternoon. Until now, there has been no notice from the department regarding the resumption of the Ganga water supply. It is expected to remain shut for at least three days,” said RK Aggarwal, project in-charge, Ganga water treatment plant in Pratap Vihar.

He said every day, Vasundhara zone is supplied 56 million litres per day (MLD) of Ganga water, while Indirapuram is supplied with 17 MLD of Ganga water and Noida is given 48 MLD.

Officials from the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) said during this time, residents in Vasundhara Zone will be supplied groundwater.

“The underground water pipelines have been checked on Monday and they were cleaned in order to prepare for the coming three days. Water tankers will also be sent to smaller residential areas such as Maharajpur, Jhandappur and Kadkad Model Village,” said RK Yadav, GMC’s executive engineer, water works department.

Officials of the Noida Authority said there is enough groundwater in Noida to supply all residential areas in the city conveniently.

“Noida’s water demand of 220 MLD can be easily fulfilled by supplying groundwater for the next three days. This is done each time there is some disruption in supply of Ganga water from the Upper Ganga Canal,” said Hom Singh Yadav, chief maintenance engineer, Noida Authority.

Two weeks ago too, the Ganga water supply to Ghaziabad and Noida took a hit due to the temporary closure of the Upper Ganga Canal, which was flooded following heavy rain in Uttarakhand from July 1-3. The canal saw a heavy deposit of silt and debris as a result of landslides in the upper reaches of the state.

The canal carries nearly 13,000 cusecs of water at any point of time. Last year, its capacity was around 10,500 cusecs and was upgraded this year.