Urban News

Indian Express  11.12.2010

Abohar disposal works threat to area

Sewerage disposal work in the whole of Abohar has come to a standstill for the past fortnight. The reason? A water channel made from the disposal works building towards agriculture land was badly chocked and, hence, a breach occurred in it. So the entire water is being diverted towards the 25-acre vacant land of the Municipal Council where up to 5 feet water is standing at the moment.

Apart from this, the low-lying colonies nearby are under the threat of an epidemic. Manholes have also been built in this vacant land for the discharge of water.

Some water is also discharged through the covered nallahs and a part is being stored in the tanks built in disposal works. The remaining has been diverted in vacant land.

Shockingly, this sewerage water is used in summers by farmers for ‘irrigation’ purposes to grow their vegetables and that is why the water channel was constructed from the disposal works building towards farm land. However, in winters the farmers’ demand gets reduced to a minimum and, hence, they do not need any more water due to which the filth has been diverted in vacant plots and the Council’s land.

The colonies which are under threat are Sant Nagar, Idgah Basti, Indira Colony, Nanak Nagri, Gobind Nagri, Bhagwanpura, Dyal Nagar etc where people from the EWS live. Interestingly, the 25-acre land where sewerage water has been diverted at the moment has been put on an auction, which will take place on December 20.

But area residents said that the Director of Local Bodies S K Sharma himself had visited the site last year and had stated that a sewerage treatment plant (STP) would be built at a part of this land because the water of Abohar is very contaminated and, hence STP, is a must. A project worth Rs 32 crore was also sanctioned.

Abohar MLA Sunil Jakhar today visited the water-logged area and asked the Director about the land which has been put on auction. Jakhar said,” if the whole land will be auctioned, where will be an STP set up. At the moment the system is completely messed up and many residents in the low lying areas are already falling sick.”

Stagnant water is also causing further contamination of ground water, which really needs to be checked. Sources revealed that the water channel from the disposal works has been broken by the farmers so that water cannot flood their fields.

In summer, however, they themselves use this ‘untreated’ water for growing vegetables. In the absence of the STP, this is the only way to flood the water.

While Local Bodies Director S K Sharma was not available for comment, Abohar Municipal Council President Sushil Goyal said, “We have saw some other land for the STP adjacent to the water-logged area. But the processing of tenders is yet to take place.” Goyal, however, agreed that water-logging is causing problem for the masses but added that there is no way out at the moment. He said, “In summers, farmers themselves ask for this water for irrigation and in winters they refuse to take it. So we have to divert it here and there.”

Two days ago two-year-old boy Aman, a resident of Indira Colony, had come to the open area to answer the call of nature. The boy died after falling in a manhole because the cover was missing. Because of the water logged-condition of the area, the child could not understand that the cover was missing. People in Indira Colony are suffering from water-borne infections and fever. However, the Council has not yet swung into action.

The New Indian Express  11.12.2010

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