Indian, Dutch scientists to revive Barapullah drain

NEW DELHI: India and the Netherlands have signed an agreement to revive the Barapullah stormwater channel.

NEW DELHI: India and the Netherlands have signed an agreement to revive the Barapullah stormwater channel.

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Barapullah, a 12.5-km drain, was once a stormwater channel that used to carry run-offs to the Yamuna. Today, it is responsible for about 30% of pollution in the river, collecting mainly domestic sewage and waste from small industries and South Delhi neighbourhoods.

The agreement was signed between the department of biotechnology, India, and The Netherlands government.

Indian scientists and their Netherlands counterparts collected samples of water from the drain on Thursday for research.

The Netherlands will spend `11 cr ore on the project and an equal or more sum will be invested by India, said a department of biotechnology official. One laboratory and multiple sewage treatment plants will be set up to clean the drain.

IIT-Delhi’s Sreekrishnan, who is heading the Indian research team, said it will take nearly two years to set up the plant. He said the quality of drain water will improve in the next five years.

The laboratory will come up at Sundial Park opposite Sarai Kale Khan bus terminus. The DDA has allotted the land for the facility. The treatment plans will be set up near the drain.

Researchers from the two countries are meeting at a two-day conference at IIT-Delhi to work out a detailed plan for drain cleaning.

Water will be cleaned by anaerobic digestion and fermentation processes.

Anaerobic digestion is a series of biological processes in which microorganisms breakdown biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen, said a department of biotechnology official.

Solid waste will be filtered by using membrane technology. Then, toxic waste will be cleaned.

CR Babu, Centre for Environment Management for Degraded Ecosystem, said, “Several agencies have tried to clean the Barapullah drain but failed. I am hopeful of a fruitful outcome this time.”

The soil and waste in India is different from other countries. Therefore, it is important to first study the nature of a drain, Babu, who participated in the conference, said.

“The Dutch researchers have proposed to set up small plants which will be easy to handle, cheaper and can be operated by local residents,” Babu said.