Here’s high quality news for Balurghat residents. If all goes as planned, the municipality will soon supply drinking water to residents at their doorsteps. The civic body has said it will start taking applications from people for the same from the last week of this month.

While the process for installing the water connections in very household has started by issuing tenders, the initial charges fixed by the municipality have raised eyebrows in the town. The project was first mooted in the year 2011-12, while the same slowed down with the change in guard at the municipality.

The project was officially inaugurated by chief  minister Mamata Banerjee in her last visit to South Dinajpur in February 2017. However, work on laying the pipelines is still going on in different parts of the town, sources said. According to official sources at the Balurghat municipality, construction work for the intake point, water treatment plant and four reservoirs at different parts of the town are also ready. “A small part of the pipeline work is still incomplete and that will be completed within March. Reservoir No 1 and 2 are ready.

Pipelines from the intake point to the treatment plant have been tested successfully,” an official said.“The project is almost complete. We are going to invite applications from people who want to mavail of the water service. We have decided to collect Rs 4,000-5,000 as one-time installation charge.

The charge will be reduced for Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities,” Municipality Chairman Rajen Shil said. “We don’t know what is going on. We are waiting for the water project for the past five years. We welcome the decision of the municipality to start the project now.

However, the initial charge for the connection is too high. It should be reduced,” Sushil Karmakar, a resident of Sahebkachari in Balurghat, said. “We have no faith on the present board. This is the third time in the last one year they have announced they would start the project.

We already have doubts about completion of the work and we will protest against the initial installation charges,” said the former chairman and opposition leader, Sucheta Biswas.