Setback for KMC's water meter plan as 85 devices go missing from S Kol
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Kolkata: Altogether 85 water meters installed under the
Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Programme
(KEIIP) were reported missing from residential areas in south Kolkata's Patli-Baisnabghata area during a month-long audit.
This has prompted the KEIIP-appointed company to file a complaint with the Patuli police.The missing meters were discovered during routine readings in wards 101, 102, 107, 108, and 110 of the Anandapur-Patuli service zone.
These meters, which are the property of the
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
(KMC), were installed as part of a performance-based contract for the ongoing water loss management project."Our representatives conduct monthly visits to record
water usage patterns
, and during recent inspections, they noticed meters missing from several households," the complaint states.
The exact number of missing meters has not been disclosed, but the company has provided authorities with detailed addresses of affected properties, with police claiming around 85 such premises have already been identified by them."Water meters were installed in most of the houses under the Patuli PS area, and every month our representatives visit all the houses to take meter readings to count the water use pattern.
At that time, our representatives found that the water meters are missing in a few houses.The installed water meters are the property of KMC. We have attached addresses and other details where we found that water meters are missing," the complaint said. KMC officials emphasised that tampering with or removing these meters is illegal as they are municipal property. "We take these incidents seriously as they hamper our water management efforts and result in financial losses to the corporation," said a senior KMC official. "Residents with information about the missing meters are urged to contact their local police station or KMC or KEIIP officials," said a police officer.According to KMC sources, around 1,000 water meters installed in neighbourhoods located off EM Bypass and the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt were stolen in the past year. According to a KMC water supply department official, 9,500 meters have been installed in areas such as Patuli, Anandapur, Kasba, and other areas located off EM Bypass under KEIIP since early 2023.According to KEIIP sources, the installation of water meters was underway in areas such as vast areas off EM Bypass under a special project. The KEIIP completed the installation of around 9,500 meters in these areas that broadly fall under four KMC wards (Wards 101, 102, 107, and 110). A KMC official expressed concern over the rapid theft of such expensive meters, each of which costs between Rs 2,200 and Rs 3,500. According to the KEIIP official, while over 600 water meters were stolen from Patuli alone, the remaining meters were found missing from Anandapur, Kasba, and some areas under Jadavpur police station.Mayor Firhad Hakim has also flagged concern about the theft time and again and asked the senior KMC officials to keep a tab on the safety of the water meters that have been installed to determine the water consumption pattern of households in several neighbourhoods where projects are being taken to augment potable water to households to end a longstanding crisis."It is true that we need to install water meters in several parts of the city to assess the water consumption pattern and accordingly plan to bridge the gap in the supply line. An area-wise survey has revealed that while residents in some neighbourhoods have access to excess drinking water and thus tend to get engaged in colossal wastage, others suffer from scarcity of water. But the frequent theft of water meters has posed a challenge to the KEIIP survey," said Hakim. A section of the KMC officials also expressed concern over owners of households destroying such meters for they suspected that the KMC would charge for the supply of water.
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