Poor sewerage network in Bhopal may choke cleanliness drive

It is not just poor management of the municipal solid waste that may cause failure of Swachh Bharat campaign in Bhopal, the insufficient sewerage network in city is likely to play a big spoiler in achieving the set target.

Updated on: Oct 14, 2014, 13:44:57 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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It is not just poor management of the municipal solid waste that may cause failure of Swachh Bharat campaign in Bhopal, the insufficient sewerage network in city is likely to play a big spoiler in achieving the set target.

At present, nearly two-thirds of the Bhopal doesn't have a proper sewerage system and a significant part of the city, especially the peripheral areas, has no sewerage network. Besides, most of the sewage or septic tank outflow gets discharged into open drains that flow into the nearby watercourses or seep into the ground.

Chief medical and health officer Bhopal Dr Pankaj Shukla said that lack of proper sewerage network in Bhopal leads to stagnation of waste water at various places, which because source of various infectious diseases and breeding places for mosquitoes. "A good sewerage network minimizes the spread of infectious water borne diseases and those caused by mosquito bites," he added.

The poor sewerage network is ending up in making Bhopal's water bodies more murky and polluted. Most of the catchment areas of the water bodies in and around the city are occupied by human settlements and receive untreated and raw sewage through number of drains.

Notably, in the areas not served by the gravity sewer network, a large section of population discharge the waste water into septic tanks, soakage pits or open drains. The development of city in a piecemeal manner in the form of colonies of various agencies and cooperative societies has prompted these individual entities to have their own sewer systems.

The natural drainage of waste in Bhopal occurs by three main water bodies — river Halali, Kaliasot river and Kolar river — which are joined by nallahs and rivulets.

For last few years Bhopal Municipal Corporation authorities have been mulling to frame a master plan for efficient drainage system in Bhopal. Confirming this, Srivastava said that last year Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) had hired a consultant for framing a detailed project report for the sewerage network in Bhopal.

"The consultant has submitted the detailed project report (DPR) to us a few days back. According to DPR it will take over Rs 600 crore to build sewerage network in Bhopal over next few years," he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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