Ghaziabad civic body starts to clean 11 untreated drains

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation has begun cleaning the water in 11 major untreated drains before it discharged into the Hindon river

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation has begun cleaning the water in 11 major untreated drains before it discharged into the Hindon river.

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“In first phase, we are physically cleaning the drain at Pratap Vihar. We have built check dams at different locations that will help improve the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels by getting the water to mix with the air. We will also mechanically pump in 100 litres of oxygen per minute with the help of machines,” said MS Tanwar, municipal commissioner.

The civic body has deployed several teams that will visit every section of the drains and remove debris in them with the help of earthmovers.

Twocheck dams have been built atPratap Vihar with more likely to come up based on requirement, and 10 pumps will inject air at each drain. The authority will also deploy algae into the drain water, which have the ability to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen but also is a major food source for aquatic life.

The city discharges almost 286 million liters a day (MLD) of sewage into the Hindon, which eventually joins the Yamuna. The untreated water reduced the river’s DO leve to less than 2 milligram per litre (mg/l) of water and made aquatic life almost impossible. But the civic body hopes that its efforts will help the DO level rise to between 5 to 8mg/l.

The 11 drains identified under the project are the ones located at Arthala, City Forest, Dasna, Hindon Vihar, Karhera, Kaila Bhatta, Nandgram, Pratap VIhar, Rahul Vihar, Indirapuram and Brij Vihar besides their sub drains.

The project will cover all drains in the next three months, officials said.

UP pollution control board (UPPCB) statistics showed annual average DO levels in the river Hindon at 1.67mg/l in Karhera, 1.25mg/l in Mohan Nagar and 0.38mg/l in Chijarsi in Ghaziabad.

For the purpose of implementation and monitoring, the corporation has also formed an environment cell that includes officials and experts roped in specifically for the project. To filter waste from entering the river, the drain outlets will also be covered with iron grilles.

“We have decided to use different methods which have been identified in consultation with experts and renowned institutes. We will introduce diatoms (a type of algae) that we will culture in our laboratories into the 11 drains. We will also introduce other micro-organisms collected from upper regions of the river. These will help increase DO levels,” said Dr Umar Saifi, an environmental planner roped in by the corporation for the project.

A floating island

But too much algae can be a problem too as it would be a sign that the water is rich in nutrients that plants take up and cover the entire waterbody, blocking its flow.

In an effort to achieve the dual objective of removing pollutants and enhancing life, the drains will also have floating islands -- natural or artificial surfaces that will have water-based plants.

According to Dr Umar, the roots of the plant will be underwater and take up the nutrients. This way it takes out excess nutrients.

“This will help reduce odour in drains and also act as habitat for aquatic life. We are also planning small ponds near drains that will get treated water,” he said.

Experts said that the processes taken up by the corporation will help in increasing the DO levels in the river.

“The processes taken up for cleaning of drains will work up to a certain level but the water in drains should be devoid of any chemicals, pesticides or any industrial waste. Otherwise, it will kill micro-organisms. The revival of Hindon and its tributaries is pending for long, and it needs collective efforts by all districts in western UP,” said river activist Dr Chandravir Singh, retired scientist from a state pollution board.

Singh filed several petitions with the National Green Tribunal regarding the polluted state of river Hindon and also its effect on groundwater in villages of western Uttar Pradesh.

“If the processes give better results, they should be implemented in upstream districts too. The monthly data released by UPPCB also indicates that the river is faring poorly on various parameters like DO and others,” said Vikrant Sharma, a city-based environmentalist and member of ‘Hindon Jal Biradiri.’