Kolkata, July 15 -- Barrackpore MLA Kaustav Bagchi has urged the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department to implement the proposed micro-tunnelling method for shifting underground water transmission pipelines beneath B T Road, saying it could remove a major hurdle in the proposed Baranagar-Barrackpore Metro corridor.
Bagchi raised the issue during a meeting with the department at Nabanna. He said IIT Kharagpur had been consulted on the feasibility of shifting the pipelines and expressed hope that the work would begin soon through micro-tunnelling or another suitable method.
The proposed 12.5-km Metro corridor has remained stalled because of underground water transmission pipelines beneath B T Road. The pipelines, laid during the British era, carry treated water from the Palta Water Treatment Plant to Tala Tank, from where drinking water is supplied to large parts of Kolkata.
Under the proposed micro-tunnelling method, an alternative underground pipeline would first be laid to ensure uninterrupted water supply from Palta to Tala. Once the new pipeline becomes operational, the existing pipelines would be shifted in phases, allowing Metro construction to proceed without disrupting drinking water supply.
"I have spoken to the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department regarding the Metro project and pipeline shifting. IIT Kharagpur's opinion has already been sought, and I am hopeful that work to shift the pipelines through micro-tunnelling or another suitable method will begin soon so that the Metro project can move forward," Bagchi said.
The Baranagar-Barrackpore corridor, planned as Kolkata Metro's Pink Line, was sanctioned in 2010 and its detailed project report was prepared in 2011. The project has recently received fresh attention following the change in government in the state.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.