VADODARA: Struggling to
take care of the issue of sewage discharge into Vishwamitri, Vadodara
Municipal Corporation (VMC) has put two drainage pressure lines. But the
lines are yet to become functional as the railway is yet to give
permission for making the lines across the railway tracks.

The
VMC had taken up the work of laying two pressure lines from the sewage
auxiliary pumping station (APS) near Kalaghoda bridge and the APS near
SSG Hospital. The water from both these APS was to be taken to the
sewage treatment plant (STP) at Atladara for treatment through two
pressure lines.

While the VMC laid the pressure lines, the
section of work under the railway tracks at Parshuram Bhattha in
Sayajigunj that the lines have to cross has remained pending. VMC
official said work both under and over the railway tracks can be
conducted either by the railways or with permission of the railways. The
drainage department of the VMC stated this in a communication to
Vishwamitri project office of the civic body.

VMC in-charge
deputy executive engineer (drainage) K L Patel said lines from the
Kalaghoda bridge APS and SSG Hospital APS to the tracks and from thereon
to the STP had been laid. He added that these had been tested as well.
“Once the work under the track gets over, they can become functional,”
he said.

According to the drainage department, the testing of
the lines has also been conducted. It states that the process of seeking
permission from the railways for the line from Kalaghoda bridge APS had
been taken in June 2010 while that from the SSG Hospital APS had been
initiated in November 2011. The civic body has made alternative
arrangements for ensuring that the water from Kalaghoda bridge APS is
not released into the river, but that from SSG Hospital makes its way to
the Vishwamitri.

VMC officials said the civic body has identified 36 spots where untreated sewage is being released into the river.

“These include those from a trickle to major discharges. We are in the
process of ensuring that this stops. We expect that within two years no
untreated waste will be released into the river,” said an official.