Three outdated Shimla treatment plants to be upgraded

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 12

Three major sewage treatment plants (STPs) — Dhalli, Maliana and Lal Pani— that still pose threat of jaundice outbreak in the city have outlived their capacity and their technology remains outdated.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) has mooted the Rs 45-crore plan to revamp these within 24 months under the AMRUT mission. The SMC’s water supply and sewerage department has awarded the project to a company.

“The company will upgrade the three STPs and increase their capacity that will take care of the city’s population till 2035,” said Dharmender Gill, Superintending Engineer, SMC.

The project has been approved by the state advisory committee and the company will accomplish the task in 24 months.

The water samples, collected from these STPs, had failed the test in many cases. The SMC is monitoring the STPs regularly, sources said.

The company will upgrade the STPs by installing the sequential batch reactor technology, which is the latest method of treating sewage, instead of continuous flow technology which has become outdated,” said Gill.

Water samples were being monitored regularly as directed by the High Court and water was not being lifted from the Ashwani Khud, Gill said.

The Dhalli plant had 0.76 MLD capacity to treat sewage, but it had exceeded 1 MLD. Similarly, Lal Pani’s plant capacity had been reduced from 19.35 MLD to 4.35 MLD as its three units had never functioned, the sources said.

Maliana STP had 3.2 MLD capacity, but it need technological upgrade for proper functioning, the SMC engineer said.

It was the untreated sewage released from the Maliana STP, which had turned out to be a major source of contamination of the Ashwani Khud, which had led to three major jaundice outbreaks in the city from 2007 to 2014.

Three other STPs — Summer Hill, Golcha and Snowdon — are functioning properly and their capacity remained underutilised, Gill said.

“The company will start work on three STPs soon as funds have been allocated under the AMRUT mission by the Central Government”, he added.

Firm given two years 

• The Shimla civic body has awarded Rs 45-cr project to a firm
• The company will upgrade three sewerage treatment plants in two years
• It will increase their capacity that will take care of the city’s population till 2035
• It will install the sequential batch reactor technology, which is the latest method of treating sewage