The Times of India        30.12.2014 

City to get 2 sewage treatment plants

Bareilly:
With a view to curb the discharge of tonnes of household waste through
drains into the Ramganga river, the Bareilly Municipal Corporation and
Jal Nigam have decided to set up two sewage treatment plants in the
city.

The plants will be set up in the Sarai Tulfi and Nakatia
areas, from where most of the waste falls into the river through drains.

The project, with an estimated budget of Rs 70 crore, comes
under the ambit of the central government scheme – National Ganga River
Basin Authority (NRGBA).

“In the absence of sewage treatment
plants, the drains dump waste in the Ramganga. The whole process ends up
polluting Ganga as Ramganga is its tributary,” said Sheeldhar Yadav,
municipal commissioner.

Yadav said that the authorities are
almost done with the detailed project report (DPR) and would soon send
it to the central government for approval. The construction work will
begin after the approval.

“Sewage treatment plants would re-use
the water or waste discharged from the sewer lines and drains,” the
municipal commissioner said.

TOI had earlier reported that
Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) officials claimed that
domestic waste is a major source of pollution for the Ramganga. More
than 80% of the waste dumped in the river is domestic instead of
industrial. Several small, interconnected drains open into the bigger
drains in Quila and Nakatia area, which lead to the Ramganga in
Bareilly.

Apart from the two sewage treatment plants at Sarai
Tulfi and Nakatia, four more plants will be set up under the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme. These will come up
in four zones of the city with an estimated budget of Rs 2,200 crore.
The municipal authorities are looking for land for the project.

“It is a big and integrated plan for the city and would take almost
four to five years to be completed. However, the two sewage treatment
plants under the NGBRA scheme are small in size and would be ready in a
year’s time,” said Yadav.

New sewer lines will also be laid in
the city under the JNNURM scheme as more than 60% of the city doesn’t
have them. The sewer lines were last replaced in 1970-75. Over the
years, the city has expanded but sewer lines have not been introduced in
the new areas by either the state or Union governments.