State to set up three new sewage treatment plants along city canals
Times of India | 29 July 2024
Kolkata: The state govt has announced plans to construct three new sewage treatment plants (STPs) aimed at reducing pollution in the Bagjola and Kestopur canals, which eventually discharge into the Hooghly river. However, an affidavit submitted by Rajesh Kumar, principal secretary of the environment department, has revealed that three currently operational STPs are significantly underutilized, operating at only 18 million litres per day (MLD) out of an installed capacity of 27 MLD.
The affidavit was submitted in response to a petition filed by environmental activist Subhas Datta before the National Green Tribunal's Eastern Zonal Bench, comprising Justice B Amit Sthalekar and expert member Arun Verma. It disclosed that the Baranagar Municipality has proposed an 8.7 MLD STP at Bonhooghly, while North Dum Dum Municipality and South Dum Dum Municipality have each proposed a 33 MLD and 27 MLD STP at Prafullakanan, respectively. However, all these proposed projects are currently entangled in land acquisition issues and are expected to take up to two years to complete.
There are 21 outfall channels in Bagjola and 32 in Kestopur. The govt has also proposed detailed mapping of the areas around both banks of the Bagjola and Kestopur canals. This includes identifying residential, non-residential, and commercial units, placing coloured bins, implementing frequent cleaning schedules, and establishing real-time monitoring mechanisms to ensure 100% segregated door-to-door waste collection. The plan also includes the deployment of Nirmal Bandhu and Nirmal Sathis to assist in these efforts.
A cleanliness drive is being planned to remove garbage piles along the canal banks. Public outreach and information, education, and communication (IEC) activities will be conducted to discourage littering and open dumping into the canals. Measures include installing display boards to raise awareness about the importance of solid and liquid waste management, spraying insecticides twice a month, releasing guppy fish to control mosquito populations, and imposing fines for violations of open garbage dumping prohibitions. Netting has also been installed to clean floating garbage.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for pollution abatement in the Kestopur canal has been modified and will soon be reviewed by the Works Committee. The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), and West Bengal State Programme Management Group (WBSPMG) are tasked with inspecting the remaining portions of the Kestopur canal towards the Circular Canal under KMC’s jurisdiction before finalizing the DPR.