Three Amritsar STPs fail to tackle high flow of sewage

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, January 29

Even though the government has set up three sewage treatment plants (STPs) around the holy city, their capacity is inadequate to tackle the flow of sewage. The STPs at Khapar Kheri and Gausanbad villages have a capacity of 95 minimal liquid discharge (MLD) each, while a small STP at Chatiwind has only a capacity of 27.5 MLD. The total capacity of these three plants is 217.5 MLD.

Farmers not getting treated water

The Soil Conservation Department was supposed to implement the proposal to provide treated water to farmers for irrigation, but due to lack of coordination among the departments concerned, no efforts have been made for the implementation of the proposal.

Sewerage Board officials estimate that the flow of sewage from the city is more than 300 MLD and around 90 MLD untreated sewage is still flowing into the drains and nullahs where treated water is being dumped.

Due to inadequate capacity, the board dumps around 30 MLD sewage directly into the city flow drain, but still the sewerage water accumulates in the streets in Guru ki Wadali and Chheharta areas.

Maninder Singh, Executive Engineer, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, stated that the low capacity of STPs, especially at Khapar Kheri, has led to the blockage of sewage in the Chheharta area. The enhancement of capacity is being considered under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation.

The STPs were built under a Rs 360-crore project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project, and the government is paying heavy operating costs to run the plants. Ironically, the treated water is not being used anywhere.

As per the proposal, the treated water from STPs should be used for agriculture purposes, but instead it’s released into the same drains. The Soil Conservation Department was supposed to implement the proposal to provide treated water to farmers for irrigation, but due to lack of coordination among the departments concerned no efforts have been made for the implementation of the proposal.

However, farmers of Khapar Kheri and Chatiwind villages, where STPs have been established, claimed that treated water couldn’t be used for agriculture until the government installs a separate line for it. The Chatiwind STP plant releases water into the Jhabbal drain while the Gaunsabad’s plant releases treated water into the Hudiara drain.

Paramjit Singh, a farmer from Chatiwind said, “The operator at the STPs dumps untreated sewage in the same drain where they release treated water. All three plants are working 24×7, but treated water is not being used. The government only makes announcements, but does not implement projects.”