Kanpur: To raise awareness about the continuously declining groundwater levels and the need to conserve water resources, ‘Groundwater Week’ is being observed across Uttar Pradesh. Water is one of the most fundamental necessities of life, and its conservation is a shared responsibility. Embracing this vision, Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (UPMRC) has been implementing several sustainable water management initiatives, including rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge pits and the use of recycled water, thereby making a significant contribution towards water conservation.Kanpur Metro is developing a rainwater harvesting capacity of nearly 24 lakh litres across its two Metro corridors, including stations, depot facilities and the 32.5 km-long viaduct. Comprehensive arrangements have been made to capture and conserve rainwater. Along the viaduct, rainwater is channelled from every alternate span into recharge pits constructed in the median below. Approximately 250 recharge pits have already been developed under Corridor-1 (IIT Kanpur–Naubasta) to facilitate groundwater recharge.The Corridor-1 Depot at Gurudev Crossing operates as a Zero Discharge Facility, ensuring that no wastewater is released outside the premises. Instead of discharging wastewater, the depot treats and recycles it for reuse in various operational activities.To support this system, the depot has been equipped with a 10,000 litres per day Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and a 70,000 litres per day Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). The treated water is reused for horticulture and landscaping within the depot premises and along the Metro viaduct. A similar zero discharge system is also being developed at the under-construction Corridor-2 (CSA-Barra-8) Depot.Metro trains are regularly cleaned using recycled water at the Automatic Train Washing Plant installed near the Corridor-1 Depot. This practice helps conserve a substantial quantity of fresh water while ensuring its efficient utilisation. Equipped with modern technology, the automatic washing plant enables quick and effective cleaning of metro trains.UPMRC is committed to minimising water wastage by promoting efficient water use across all its facilities. Water fixtures installed at all Kanpur Metro stations, including the newly constructed stations on the Balance Section (Kanpur Central-Naubasta) such as drinking water taps and restroom fittings, are 30-40% more water efficient than conventional fixtures. These water saving installations are expected to conserve millions of litres of water annually across the Metro network.
