Tallah tank - the marvel of Kolkata

Tallah overhead reservoir is situated near Barrackpur Trunk Road and Tara Sankar Sarani crossing.

The commissioning of Tallah was done by Sir Edward Baker, the then lieutenant governor of undivided Bengal, on 18th Nov 1909.

Clayton Son & Company of Leeds, England was the contractor of the project. All the materials including anti-corrosion plates were shipped to Calcutta from England. The fabrication work was done at the site itself. The cost of construction was Rs. 5 lakh. The huge overhead tank is a masterpiece of civil engineering and metallurgy. 

Filtered water is sent from Palta Waterworks to Tallah through underground pipes. Whenever the water pressure falls in the distribution head, water from the reservoir compensates for the shortfall. When water pressure is high, the tank is automatically filled. This cycle of emptying and filling takes place round the clock.

It supplies water to the region of Kolkata extending from Sinthee in the north to Bhowanipore in the south.

The vital statistics

Construction started in Aug 1907
Commissioned on Nov 18, 1909
Height: 110ft from ground to the base of the reservoir
Depth of the tank: 16 ft
Area: 1.03 lakh sq.ft or 7 bigah
Capacity: 9 million gallons of water

The feats

1. It is serving Kolkata for more than a century (104 years old) yet it had developed only 14 leaks so far. However, these leaks had never interrupted the water supply. It is made up of mild steel.
2. During World War II the Tallah Tank was covered with grass-slabs to camouflage a football ground. This was done to save Tallah tank from aerial bombing.

References:

1. Experts inspect Tallah Tank, suggest urgent repair, Times of India Jul 21, 2013.
2. Saikat Ray, Uncertain times for heritage Tallah tank, The Times of India Jul 14, 2013,.