Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India, is a historic city with a population of over 1.2 million. Being one of the most visited destinations in India, the city received around 8.9 million visitors in recent years. The growing population and the continuous influx of tourists across the year have led to most resources in the city exceeding their usage capacity, especially the river Ganga. Hence, the government has undertaken several initiatives to address issues arising out of this situation.
Varanasi’s water supply body, the Jal Kal Department, collaborated with ABB India to use its smart technology to facilitate smooth and efficient water supply in the city. The city’s pumping station and STPs have been installed with ABB Softstarters for better water management operations. With this technology, ABB has enabled uninterrupted water supply to 60 per cent of Varanasi city. It has also enabled the effective pumping of treated water at the country’s STPs, supporting the Namami Gange programme for Clean Ganga.
With the residents of Varanasi and millions of tourists visiting this holy city, the increasing demand for water involves multiple supply management challenges. ABB’s technology helps Jal Kal Varanasi, the city’s water supply body, meet these challenges and ensure uninterrupted water supply to users. Leakages and pipeline damages are areas of great concern for water supply bodies. ABB’s smart applications make it easier for them to maintain smooth, safe and uninterrupted operations.
“For Jal Kal Varanasi, our objective was to enable safe and reliable water supply operations. With smart technology and state-of-the-art products, we were able to support Jal Kal team in their endeavour to increase water supply reliability and motor lifespan, and lower maintenance costs. Given the critical challenges faced by the water supply bodies, we are pleased to provide electrification solutions that support our stakeholders in meeting them,” said Kiran Dutt, president, electrification business, ABB India.
ABB Softstarters technology addresses challenges created by conventional starters
Varanasi’s water pumping station relies on a century-old 250 million litres per day (mld) water treatment plant for its water supply. ABB Softstarters ensures smooth water movement and eliminates pressure surges. This enables the minimisation of leakages and prevents pipe bursting incidents. ABB’s Softstarters technology has easy applicability with other built-in protections. It also features a display, which makes it easy for users to understand faulty tripping points.
Supporting the Namami Gange programme for Clean Ganga
Varanasi generates about 300 million litres of sewage per day. The Clean Ganga or Namami Gange programme is a massive initiative led by the central government to cleanse the holy river by tapping the major drains flowing into the river and diverting them to STPs. This initiative stops untreated sewage from flowing into the river and thereby prevents it from polluting the river. ABB India’s Softstarters installed at such STPs support the Namami Gange programme by efficiently pumping the treated water from the STPs back into the river.
In sum
The Varanasi Jal Kal department is working on transitioning from intermittent to continuous water supply in the city. It is working with various private organisations to deploy technology-based solutions in the city to provide 24×7 water supply. Such initiatives will help achieve 100 per cent customer metering and ensure zero water loss. It will result in 100 per cent billing and revenue collection efficiency in the system.
Based on inputs from ABB India