E-Paper
Lack of dedicated storm water drainage system a big hurdle in Smart City Mission
As over 35,000 road gullies in different parts of the city are linked with sewage, rain water which can be used for various purposes gets mixed with the sewage and is discharged into the Buddha Nullah and adds to the load of Sewage Treatment Plants installed to treat the water of Buddha Nullah
With the city facing the acute crisis of waterlogging every year, the absence of a dedicated storm water drainage system continues to add to the problem of residents. The rains add to the load of sewage leading to reverse flow in residential areas and roads.
As over 35,000 road gullies in different parts of the city are linked with sewage, rain water which can be used for various purposes gets mixed with the sewage and is discharged into the Buddha Nullah and adds to the load of Sewage Treatment Plants installed to treat the water of Buddha Nullah.
Concerned residents including environmental activists have been raising the issue of delinking the road gullies from sewages and adopting the technology to use the rainwater for recharging ground water which is depleting at an alarming level or treating the water for regular use.
With the implementation of rainwater harvesting rules for commercial establishments, government departments still in the pipeline, the problem has worsened.
On the other hand, projects to install storm sewage drains in various parts of the city are hanging fire. As per the official figures only around 15 percent area of the city is covered under the storm water drainage system.
While the project to lay storm water drainage on the waterlogging prone Chandigarh road was completed last year several other waterlogging prone low-lying areas including Transport Nagar, Salem Tabri, Shivpuri, Kailash Nagar, New Kundan Puri are without any system to drain the rainwater.
Chander Mohan Lakhanpal, a member of Buddha Darya Action Front said, “The fact that the city which extracts groundwater at such a huge level is doing less than nothing to recharge groundwater or utilise the rainwater by establishing functional mechanisms including storm water drainage system is worrying in itself.”
He added that the MC and Ludhiana Improvement Trust issue no-objection certificates on the condition that the owner of the building will install a rainwater harvesting system and use treated water for construction purposes but there is complete lack of follow-up.
A senior official in the Operations and Maintenance branch of the MC said that a proposal regarding laying of separate storm sewer pipes was proposed in the city but was dropped due to lack of funds.
Superintending engineer, Ravinder Garg said that monsoon preparations in the city have been completed including cleaning of road gullies and drains.
