35 MLD sewage flowing into Ganga

ALLAHABAD: The Centre’s efforts to ensure a clean Ganga notwithstanding, 32 drains are openly flowing into the river at different places in the Sangam city thereby increasing its pollution level each passing day.

As per official records, 35 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage is flowing directly into the river through these drains.

However, officials of Ganga Pollution Unit here blame the delay in tapping of drains to non-availability of specific schemes for doing so.

As per project manager of the Ganga Pollution Unit, Allahabad, JP Mani, around 275 MLD sewage is produced every day in city of which only 240 MLD is being treated at the existing 6 sewage treatment plants (STPs) here.

The official said of the 64 major and minor drains in city limits, 32 had been tapped.

“The remaining ones will be tapped by June 2018. It is a fact that around 35 MLD of sewage is flowing into Ganga every day but we cannot help as the same could be checked only after schemes for it are received from state government,” he said.

As per him, the city has around 1000 kilometres of underground sewage pipeline infrastructure while work on 600 KM pipeline is in progress.

As of now, six sewage treatment plants of different capacity are functioning in the city. They include Naini sewage treatment plants (80 MLD), Rajapur STP (60 MLD), Salori STP (43 MLD), Numaiya Dih STP (50 MLD), Kodra STP (25 MLD) and Ponghat STP (10 MLD).

New Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has also directed officials to work in accordance with the promises made in party’s poll manifesto pertaining to the cleaning of the river.