BBMB sewage plant faces neglect

Our Correspondent

Sundernagar, February 5

The sewage treatment plant of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) at Sundernagar is in a state of neglect.

Residents said officials of the Health and Pollution Control Board had been asked by the authorities to take water samples on a regular basis, but they paid no heed.

Daya Ram, a resident of Jugahan village, said they were living under constant fear as in the last one month, 35 cases of jaundice had been reported in Mandi district.

He said samples taken from the water supply scheme of the BBMB, Pandoh, were unfit for drinking. A visit to the plant revealed that the staff quarters were damaged and were not being used. A portion of the boundary wall had been completely removed.

The residents claimed that the sewerage was not functioning properly. As per an official of the BBMB, the treatment plant was a conventional plant and its intake was 15 per cent of the total capacity.

He said officials of the Pollution Control Board had been taking water samples from the plant regularly and that all parameters were being met.

A senior official of the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department, who visited the plant today, observed that the slurry was not being released in the beds.