Overflowing sewers spark fear of disease outbreak

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 13

Health of more than 1,500 residents of the Kalia Colony is at stake. For the past 2-3 months, sewage and factory effluents have accumulated in residential areas. Locals fear that in the absence of a timely action, people residing there may fall prey to vector-borne diseases. Doctors practising in the area said toxins mixed with factory effluents might cause diseases such as kala-azar, cancer and malaria. Water stagnating in the streets has become a breeding ground for infected sand flies, mosquitoes and other insects.

Janesh Jusroy and other residents said earlier the waste water of nearby factories used to be drain out into the Kali Bein, but after the restrictions imposed by Sant Seechewal, nearby small-scale industry owners, instead of installing their own treatment plants, have illegally connected their disposing units to the main sewer line at the focal point.

The sewerage point is also connected to the Kalia Colony’s sewer line. Due to additional burden, the sewers are overflowing.

Shamlal Sharma, who claimed to be the president of the Kalia Colony Welfare Society, told residents that a new pipeline for the treatment of disposed water has been installed after collecting money from the residents. However, Janesh and another resident Aditya said no such pipe line had been installed so far to resolve the issue.

Municipal corporation officials had installed some drainage pumps a week ago, but the arrangement did not prove beneficial due tofuel and electricity shortage. He said the residents wanted a permanent solution to the long-standing problem.

Admitting that some Small -scale units had linked their effluent disposal pipes to main sewerage point, Junior engineer Amit Kumar said the problem would be resolved by next week.