Work on Devika project starts in Udhampur

Deepanker Gupta

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Udhampur, May 30

After a long wait, the work on the project namely “Pollution Abatement of River Devika and River Tawi at Udhampur Town” under the National River Conservation Plan was started by the urban environmental engineering department at Devika Ghat in Udhampur on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation of the project, aimed at reducing pollution in Devika and Tawi, online in February from Vijaypur in Samba.

According to the urban environmental engineering department (UEED), the project will be executed at a cost of Rs 186.74 crore and is based on 90:10 funding pattern between the Centre and the state. The rivers, which are considered sacred by people, have seen an increase in the pollution levels and silt deposition over the years.

The UEED said the project, inter alia, included the construction of three sewage treatment plants of 8 MLD, 4 MLD and 1.6 MLD capacity, sewerage network of 129.27 km, development of two cremation ghats, protection fencing and landscaping, small hydropower plants and three solar power plants.

On completion of the project, the rivers will see reduction in pollution and improvement in water quality.

The UEEDis the main authority for the project implementation, operation and its maintenance.