Over dozen nullahs in Haridwar dumping sewage into Ganga: Locals | Times Of India
HARIDWAR: Even as the administration claims that measures are being taken to keep the Ganga unpolluted in Haridwar, residents have alleged that over a dozen nullahs carrying the city’s sewage is flowing into the river in full public view every day.
Resident Rameshwar Prasad Gaur said, “This is a blatant violation of the repeated directions issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the past few months. In the stretch between Har-ki-Pauri and Mayapur Dam alone, the number of nullahs carrying sewage into the river is about a dozen.”
He added that the capacity of the sewage treatment plants (STPs) set up in the city is very less than the actual sewage generated. “As such, sewage goes into the Ganga even from places where STPs are set up as they do not treat the entire sewage,” he said.
According to Jal Sansthan (maintenance unit) executive engineer, Ajai Kumar, the total sewage generated in Haridwar is around 110 MLD per day. “Of it, 85 MLD is received at Jagjitpur and 15 MLD at Sarai. The STPs at the two villages are of 45 MLD and 18 MLD capacity respectively. Hence, 40 MLD sewage at Jagjitpur is left untreated and released in the Ganga. Under the Namami Gange project, work is in process to set up a 68 MLD STP at Jagjitpur to meet the additional requirement.” Kumar said.
He added that to prevent sewage from flowing into the Ganga, it is diverted to a pumping station from where it goes to a STP for treatment.
A jal nigam official said, “This tapping has been done in 15 nullahs while two have been partially tapped. Under Namami Gange projects (worth Rs 226 crore), five nullahs are also being tapped.”
