KOLKATA: The West Bengal government is hopeful of repairing the damaged lock gate of the Durgapur Barrage by Wednesday, a senior official said.
Cranes have been deployed to pull the broken gate for initiating repair work and an effort to dry the river bed area near the damaged lock gate is on, he said.
"A lot has been achieved but it is not yet complete. If work commences by today evening, it is expected to be completed by tomorrow evening," Paschim Bardhaman District Magistrate Purnendu Maji told PTI.
Personnel of the irrigation department have been attempting alternative methods as the river bed area near the damaged lock gate was not dry enough for undertaking full- fledged repair work, sources said.
Meanwhile, drinking water is being supplied in the industrial township by water tankers, sources said.
Mayor of Durgapur Municipal Corporation (DMC) Dilip Kumar Agasty said that all the water tankers of the DMC have been pressed into service while the Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) and the Eastern Coalfields have diverted their tankers to mitigate the water woes of people.
The Durgapur Projects Ltd and the Damodar Valley Corporation have decided to regulate power generation due to water scarcity following damage to the lock gate, an official said.
On Saturday, the lock gate number 31 of Durgapur barrage suffered heavy damages and became nonfunctional.