Effluents, not domestic waste being dumped into sewers, says Ludhiana MC

Ludhiana municipal corporation officials further said that no waste, be it industrial or domestic, can be dumped into the MC sewer lines from the CETP

Dismissing objections raised by the Punjab Dyers Association (PDA) on the discovery of an illegal channel installed to dump untreated waste from a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) into the civic body’s sewer lines, the municipal corporation on Sunday said that untreated waste of the dyeing industry, and not domestic waste, was being dumped in its sewers.

Rubbishing the claim of PDA that officials of the MC and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) never objected to this line in the past, they said that they came to know about these illegal sewer lines during an inspection. (HT Photo)

The Civic body officials further said that no waste, be it industrial or domestic, can be dumped into the MC sewer lines from the CETP.

Rubbishing the claim of PDA that officials of the MC and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) never objected to this line in the past, they said that they came to know about these illegal sewer lines during an inspection.

During the inspection done by a joint team of MC and PPCB, it was found that colourful hot water was being dumped into the MC sewers through the illegal sewer line connected to the CETP.

Civic body officials said that the objections raised by PDA were completely false. MC and PPCB teams are authorised to check any premises from where waste is dumped in MC sewer lines and the officials do not need any special permission for the same.

Earlier, the Punjab Dyers Association issued a statement claiming that the toilet waste water from their 50 MLD CETP plant is being directed into the STP plant. They asserted that they will rectify this issue by removing the sewerage pipeline within the next two days. Additionally, they reported that they prevented the Municipal Corporation (MC) and PPCB officials from digging the CETP plant lines and requested permission for any future excavation work.

The officials further stated that the directors of PDA obstructed MC and PPCB team members from performing their duty on Saturday and required action was being taken in this regard. The civic body has also written to PPCB for taking action against the untreated waste being dumped in MC sewer lines through the illegal sewer line connecting the CETP.

MC fixes leakage in PDA manhole

A joint team of MC and PPCB on Sunday fixed a leakage in the manhole of PDA through which untreated waste of dyeing industry was getting into the MC sewer lines at Focal Point phase 8 area.

A complaint regarding colourful water flowing in sewer lines in the Focal Point area was given by PDA Focal Point members. The joint teams of MC and PPCB conducted the inspection after receiving the complaint and plugged the leak.

The manhole is a part of a sewer line established for shifting the dyeing industry waste to 40mld Focal Point CETP.