Panaji: PWD inspection of new 27-MLD Opa plant delayed

PONDA: Although work on the new 27-MLD (millions of litres per day) water treatment plant at Opa is proceeding on a war footing, a scheduled inspection of the work by senior officials of the public works department (PWD) has been deferred. The date of commissioning of the project was supposed to be finalised after reviewing the work.
The new plant aims to supply potable water to Panaji, and the Kadamba plateau, which is solely dependent on tanker water at present.
Nitin Nevrekar, officer on special duty to PWD minister Deepak Pauskar said that the minister doesn’t wish to commission the plant until the work is completed fully.
Most of the civil work and the electrification work of the pumping station have been completed. The work is being conducted by Gharpure Engineers, the company that has constructed major highways under the Golden Quadrilateral project.
The pipelines have been laid from Opa to Panaji and a 5,000 CuM master balancing reservoir (MBR) has already been constructed at a hillock at Curti where the treatment would take place and the water from the MBR would be then released through gravity. The authorities have also tested the level of pressure to the treatment plant on the hillock.
The work for the plant was started in 2013 and was expected to be completed by 2015. However, it has been delayed on several occasions, when the plant was almost ready by June, this year. A trial was also conducted in June.
Presently, about 116 MLD treated water is supplied to Ponda and Tiswadi talukas after being treated at the four plants at Opa by the water division of PWD.