Desalination Plant to be Built in Gopalpur

A desalination plant to make sea water potable is being planned near Gopalpur in Ganjam district of Odisha. Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) has planned to install a 5-million litre per day (mld) capacity plant to meet the industrial and potable drinking water requirements for its Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM) at Matikhala near Chhatrapur, according to official sources.

The Rs 112.90 crore project is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2019, Rajya Sabha member Renubala Pradhan said quoting a reply given by Minister in Prime Minsiter’s office, V Narayansamy in Parliament recently.

“Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) will set up the hybrid seawater desalination plant for IREL. It will comprise 4.5 mid seawater reserve osmosis (SWRO) and 0.5 mid multi-effect distillations (MED) system for producing water,” the minister was quoted as having said.

OSCOM is currently meeting its water requirement for industrial and drinking water purpose through Rushikulya river water system at Madhapur, near Chhatrapur. The urban water supply department is currently supplying around 1.1 mld (0.4 mld for drinking water and 0.7 mld for industrial purpose) to the IREL, unit, said executive engineer Berhampur P K Mohapatra.

Pradhan urged the IREL authorities to enhance the capacity of the proposed desalination plant and supply potable drinking water to some more areas including Chhatrapur town and some portions of Berhampur under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Rushikulya river water system, which can yield around 20 mld water, is supplying to OSCOM, Berhampur University, Army Air Defence College and Berhampur town, which is reeling under acute shortage of drinking water,particularly during peak summer.

“When IREL authorities increase the capacity of its proposed desalination plant periphery areas of the OSCOM and Berhampur, the town will get more water”, Pradhan said.