STPs can’t treat discharge in Tung Dhab drain, say experts

Months after Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal announced that a proposal worth around Rs 120 crore has been chalked out to clean the Tung Dhab drain and develop a leisure belt over it, experts warn that the government should not solely rely on the Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs).

The STPs are capable of treating only residential waste while the drain receives effluents from dairies, industries and houses.

Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, who oversaw a number of studies carried out by experts to clean the drain, said unless the mixing of effluents is stopped, there is no fun undertaking any development project. He said the experts in their studies found the intense cause of pollution, from fumes emitted by the drain to mixing of dairy waste with chemical-laced effluents discharged by industries.

He said as per the NGT guidelines, a storm water drain cannot be covered. Since the Tung Dhab drain is a storm water drain, no plan to cover it can be undertaken.

The Tung Dhab drain was dug up in 1955 to prevent floods. Originating from Gurdaspur, it passes through the middle of the Amritsar city and falls into Lahore’s Hudiara drain, which merges in river Ravi.

The MP said that a way out should be found to ensure that about 550 KLD (kilolitre per day) waste discharged by 170 dairies, livestock dung and other animal waste is not routed through the drain.

Similarly, industries discharge millions of litres of polluted effluents per day into the drain causing fermentation after mixing with dairy waste. He said the government must ensure that officials of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) keep a check on industries so that only treated water is released from their units.