Hubbali Exposure Tour
About the Exposure Tour
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) of Leh and Kargil district has undertaken water supply augmentation project in its municipal area. The project aims to provide consistent water supply services of required quality and quantity to its citizens at affordable price. The Hubbali Dharwad Municipal corporation has implemented 24×7 water supply project in selected wards of the towns under Karnataka Urban Water Sector Improvement Project (KUWASIP), a World Bank aided programme. It was decided to take the officials from Leh and Kargil to meet the officials and engineers involved with implementation of the 24×7 water supply project and understand the task of operations, management model and technical parameters involved in the project. The exposure tour was conducted as part of Liveable Leh project
Participant profile: Executive Councillor, LAHDC Kargil; President, Municipal Committee, Leh; Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kargil; Councillor, MC Kargil and Leh; Executive Engineer, PWD Kargil; Assistant Engineer PHE Leh
Tour Details Official Name 5 Day Exposure Tour Leh & Kargil officials to 24×7 water supply project of Hubbali Dharwad Municipal Corporation Target Group Elected and Administrative officials from Leh & Kargil Districts Number of Participants 11 Number of Days 5 Dates 1-5 December 2018
Proceedings of the Exposure Tour
Day 1: 1 December 2018
Arrival of participants from Leh
Day 2: 2 December 2018
The participants visited CDD Society Bengaluru. Mr Anantha Moorthy, Project Engineer, CDD Society took the participants for CASS tour where they witnessed the different types of sanitation solution systems developed over the years and current approaches. They were taken to pre-fab unit of CDD where new pre-fabricated Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) modules were demonstrated.
After a brief round of introduction, Stanzin Tsephal, Director, BORDA South Asia, gave a short presentation on how the Hubbali Dharwad Municipal corporation turned around the water supply scheme and explained the management model behind the project. He stressed on private sector participation for water supply project and how it can enhance efficiency in both management and technical aspects.
Mr Krishnaswaroop, Team Leader, CDD Society, explained the Andhra Pradesh Solid Waste Management model especially the contracting clauses and performance criteria for operators.
Some key observations from participants: Private Sector participation, biogas generation from sludge, traditional toilet should be reimagined and re-engineered to suit modern lifestyle, decentralised solutions for Ladakh, CASS exhibition
Day 3: 3 December 2018
The participants reached Hubbali and were invited to Regional office of Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), another key partner in project implementation, where Mr Managond, Executive Engineer, Project Implementation Unit, KUIDFC explained the project highlighting; planning, construction, commissioning and operations of the project along with description of multiple agencies involved in the project. He stressed on the importance of stakeholder communication and private sector participation to ensure successful delivery of the project.
Followed by the presentation, the participants mainly raised their concerns related to winter water supply challenge in cold climate and issues pertaining to water supply network in rocky terrain. It was understood that case specific technologies need to be evaluated to avoid freezing problem during winter.
Some key observation from participants: Pressure control valve in supply network is important parameter to regulate pressure especially in undulating topography such as Leh and Kargil, involvement of NGO partners and private partners for project implementation, importance of Water Boards to decide tariffs, 24×7 water supply reduces wastage of water, outsourcing water supply operations and management leads to better service delivery and management, last mile delivery of water supply service improves trust of customer on public service, evaluate technical options like pipe material, dia and move towards optimization. Day 4: 4 December 2018 The participants were taken to 24×7 Water supply Water Infrastructure works where Mr Managond took them around Service Reservoirs where the water comes from Treatment plant, bulk meters installed at main supply pipe, role of private operator and how the operator manages the distribution network. He explained that the bulk water supply is the responsibility of Karnataka Urban Water Supply & Sewerage Board (KUWS&DB) while the customer water supply network of newly laid distribution network is of private operator.
The participants were then taken to demo sites where they interacted with 24×7 water supply customers and understood before and after scenario. It was found that under the new scheme, most households got rid of their individual water pumps as the pressure of water supplied was sufficient to lift the water up to two storeys.
After the demo zone site visit, the participants were taken to water treatment plant operated by KUWS&DB where the process of aeration, clarifloculation, filtration, chlorination and supply to bulk network was explained by the officials in charge. The participants also visited the laboratory where water samples were tested at regular intervals for pH, conductivity, chlorine content, etc.
Lastly the participants met the Chief Engineer of KUIDFC and discussed possible ways how water supply situation in both Leh and Kargil can be improved upon from learnings derived from exposure tour. The official extended full cooperation to the delegation for any assistance or support required.
Day 5: 5 December 2018 Wrap up session with participants was held at Hotel Ibis, Bengaluru moderated by Stanzin and Manas Rath on what can be possible ways to improve cooperation and delivery of water supply services in both towns.
