90 women leaders visit Hongalli Water Treatment Plant near KRS

Mysore/Mysuru: As many as 90 women heads of 30 women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Mysuru city were introduced to the nitty-gritty of water supply, by a visit to Mysuru City Corporation’s (MCC) Water Treatment Plant at Hongalli near Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam in Mandya district this morning.

The programme is conducted as part of the three-day ‘Jal Diwali’ campaign organised by Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the initiative “Women for Water, Water for Women Campaign” under its flagship scheme — Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), in partnership with National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), that concludes on Nov. 9.

As part of the programme, MCC Additional Commissioner M.J. Roopa and Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWS&DB) Executive Engineer Asif Khaleel explained the women heads of SHGs about various methods followed in drinking water supply — lifting water from the canals, followed by treatment and pumping of water to Central Storage Reservoir (CSR) at Vijayanagar in Mysuru to be distributed to the consumers at  the final stage.

Khaleel explained, “Water lifted from canals will be first purified using Silica Sand (the incoming water enters the filter and migrates through the silica sand), successfully removing any solids or debris from the water, followed by ‘Anthracite’ to remove various types of sediment, turbidity and organic matter from water. The water will be later filtered in ‘V-Wire Filter Unit’ and treated using Chlorine gas, before supplying it to Vijayanagar’s CSR.”

MCC Additional Commissioner Roopa said: “The top 90 leaders from 30 women SHGs in MCC limits are selected for this programme, which aims to create a platform for women in water governance. Following the conclusion of the programme, the participants will disseminate information with door-to-door visits on how water should be judiciously used in an economical manner, without wasting the natural resource.”

Earlier in the day, the participating women were taken in a bus from MCC Main Office on New Sayyaji Rao Road to Hongalli Water Treatment Plant. Later, they were taken to Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW) at Yadavagiri in city.

On the second day tomorrow (Nov. 8), a workshop has been organised at MCC, followed by valedictory on Nov. 9.

Prominent among the women SHGs which took part in today’s visit are: Prithvi, Huliyamma, Siri Arora and Vinayaka.

According to officers from VVWW, the city consumes 300 MLD (Million Litres Per Day) of water and as of now, there is no water shortage.

“While 40 MLD is being pumped from Belagola supply station, 115 MLD from Hongalli, 85 from Meghalapura and 60 MLD water is being supplied from Kabini,” the Officers added.