Pollution board members, MLA inspect city STPs

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 22

The Punjab Pollution Control Board on Monday organised a joint inspection to three sewage treatment plants (STP) installed at Pholriwal, Jalandhar, with area legislator Pargat Singh.

MLA Pargat Singh along with Sandeep Bahl, Senior Environmental Engineer and the team of technical and scientific officers of the Punjab Pollution Control Board visited the three STPs this morning. Lakhwinder Singh, Superintendent Engineer, Municipal Corporation and Jatin Vasudeva, Executive Engineer, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board were also called on the spot. A joint sampling of the effluent reaching the STP and going out after the treatment were collected and were sent to independent labs for analysis.

Pargat Singh said integrated schemes were not prepared by the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board and MC authorities for utilising treated effluent for irrigation so that pressure of extracting groundwater be minimised. He assured that matter would be taken up with the Union Ministry of Water Resources for getting the schemes for the use of treated effluent into land for irrigation so as to ensure that effluent after treatment may not enter Jamsher drain leading to the Sutlej.

The visit comes after the decisions taken in the recent meeting held at Circuit House, Jalandhar, on May 8 in which Deputy Commissioner Varinder Sharma, MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh, city MLAs and Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal discussed issues regarding water pollution in the city. During this meeting, it was decided that STPs would be inspected by the Punjab Pollution Control Board along with MLAs concerned to access its working and to investigate whether the effluent contains heavy metals or not as the Municipal Corporation and the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board officers on various occasions are trying to put the onus of inefficient operation of the STP’s due to the presence of heavy metals being discharged by various industries.