Punjab Newsline | Mandoli (Patiala)
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday dedicated two state-of-the-art water treatment plants to the people at Mandoli village in the Ghanaur Assembly constituency of Patiala district.
Built at a combined cost of ₹432.65 crore, the projects will provide clean drinking water to around 4.5 lakh people belonging to 75,000 households across five Assembly constituencies.
The projects will benefit 316 villages across the Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib regions, with a 752-kilometre-long pipeline network laid to ensure the supply of treated water to households.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Mann said residents of these villages had been struggling with drinking water problems for a long time. He pointed out that high levels of fluoride and heavy metals in groundwater had posed serious health risks to the people.
He said canal water would now be treated using advanced technology before being supplied to households, ensuring access to safe drinking water while reducing dependence on groundwater. Mann also accused previous governments of neglecting the needs of these villages.
Mandoli water treatment plant has been constructed at a cost of ₹266.20 crore, while the plant at Pabri has been developed at an expenditure of ₹166.46 crore. The two facilities have a combined water treatment capacity of 69 million litres per day (MLD).
Both plants are equipped with laboratories to ensure regular monitoring of water quality. Samples are tested before and after the treatment process to maintain prescribed standards. A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system has also been installed at the treatment plants and water storage tanks to enable continuous monitoring of water supply and quality.
The company concerned will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the facilities for the next 10 years.
To ensure effective local-level management, Water Supply and Sanitation Committees have been constituted in all 316 villages. These committees will monitor water supply arrangements and oversee the functioning of the system at the village level.
Chief Minister further said that the state government was also working on canal-based drinking water projects for Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala cities. These projects are planned to benefit around 78 lakh urban residents, with a combined water treatment capacity of 1,410 MLD being developed.
