After years of delay, admn approves Rs 5.6 cr for pipeline

A delay in the construction of a 2.75-km long pipeline was identified as the major impediment to the inauguration and commissioning of a sewage treatment plant (STP) here, the foundation of which was laid on December 4, 2020.

The administration has now initiated the process for the construction of the pipeline at an estimated cost of Rs 5.6 crore. Once ready, the pipeline would resolve the long-pending issues of persistent overflow of sewage that has remained an unresolved issue even after supplementary arrangements were made by the Municipal Council.

Construction work on the pipeline, earlier known as Maherna Drain, had remained suspended due to opposition by residents of the Maherna village and surrounding areas. Authorities, led by successive executive officers and presidents of the MC, had failed to receive political support for persuading the residents to withdraw their complaints against the pipeline project.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Sukhpreet Singh Sidhu said, “As the STP has already been installed, residents of areas along the pipeline will have no objection to the release of the treated discharge.”

The foundation stone for the project was jointly laid by then Congress MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman and Fatehgarh Sahib MP Dr Amar Singh Boparai on December 4, 2020. Suraaj Mohammad was the president of the municipal council then.

Now, after over 59 months later, the ‘dream project’ originally envisioned by then SAD president Paramjit Kaur Jassal in 2015 is still waiting to be commissioned under the Aam Aadmi Party government, even though work on the plant is nearly complete.

Residents of low-lying localities had hoped for relief from the overflowing sewage after work was expedited under the leadership of MC president Vikas Krishan over a year ago.

Clearing choked sewers and managing overflowing drains has remained the biggest challenge for the civic body since the formation of the AAP government in the state.

For years overflowing sewers have inconvenienced residents, especially during the rainy season. Locals allege a defective layout of sewers and the indifference of previous administrations has resulted in a situation where certain areas remained submerged due to the frequent overflow of sewage. Failure of the administration to ban the use of plastics was identified as another reason behind the blocking of sewers and pipelines.

The project would function on the sequential batch reactor (SBR) process mechanism. The capacity of the plant is reported to be 5 million litres daily and is expected to cater to the needs of the town until the population reaches one lakh.