Sealdah Station handles a huge footfall of more than 1.5 million people daily and is also emerging as an eco-sustainable station. With the help of an efficient water saving system in the form of installation of sewage treatment plants, the station saves Rs 46,939 per hundred thousand litres of water annually. According to official sources, the total water requirement for bus washing is 904 kilolitres per day (KLD).
To reduce the water requirement for bus washing, Sealdah station has installed an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) cum Water Recovery Plant (WRP) of 700 KLD capacity which generates around 77.43 percent of the water required for bus washing. The total water requirement of the station and yard is 36,30485 liters. The station generates around 1,600 KLD of reusable wastewater meeting 43 percent of the total requirement with the help of the 700 KLD sewage treatment plant.
The station also has water meters in the inlet and supply pipe of the underground reservoir tank which draws water from the Ganga Water Treatment Plant of 2.5 MGD capacity at Tala and supplies water to the station premises. So the station uses treated water for its daily consumption. For rainwater collection, the station has six points of 2.5 KL capacity each of which can collect 1,46235.6 litres per month and 4,874.518 litres per day of rainwater during the peak rainfall in the month.
“The sustainability measures are being implemented not only for water conservation but also for energy conservation,” official sources said. “With the help of installing energy efficient fittings, the station is saving around Rs 3.5 million annually and around Rs 1 million in three years. Two solar water heating systems with a capacity of 500 litres per day have been installed on the roof of the new building in Sealdah station to meet the water requirement of 1,000 litres of the total requirement of 1,800 litres per day,” the official informed.
“To reduce heat from the 1,732 sq.m uncovered area, 920 sq.m is covered with pavers and 470 sq.m is covered with tree canopy. This confirms that a total of 80.25% of the entire site plan consists of tree canopy, landscaping and interlocking bricks,” he added. According to Deepak Nigam, Divisional Manager, Sealdah Railways, the railways are making efforts to transform the station into one of the smart stations in the country. “For this, eight smart facilities have been installed in the station including Wi-Fi, ticket vending machines, smart cards, CCTV surveillance in the station for security purpose, prepaid taxi services, a shopping area, a food and beverage area, a spa, a salon and meditation centre and a gaming area,” informed Mr. Nigam.
“The station also has 2,685 seats across 21 platforms, ranging from 40 to 285 seats per platform. The station meets the NSG1 standard of 150 seats per platform across 10 out of 21 platforms,” he added. The station has already received Gold certification under the IGBC’s Green Stations rating system. The team led by Prithwish Halder/DEnHM from Sealdah is now aiming for Platinum award for the station.
