HOPES TO STEER CLEAR OF WATERLOGGING
Amritsar’s sewer lines are being cleaned manually and mechanically at a cost of ₹8 crore, as the municipal corporation gears up to face the monsoon this season.
“The city has a 200-km main sewer line that runs through 85 wards. It used to be badly choked and filled beyond capacity, leading to submerging of most parts of the city every year, but this time, our new mechanised sewage cleaning machines will be used to clean the drains,” said mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu. Desilting, which started in every constituency, is expected to be completed before the monsoon begins. The machines will be used at most of the places, “so once cleaned, the drains won’t cause waterlogging at Heritage Street at the Golden Temple,” Rintu said.
“Apart from the ₹8 crore sewer line cleaning project, a ₹5.5-crore project to clean the main sewerage drain, Ganda Nullah, in the city had been initiated in October last year and the desilting has been completed,” said Komal Mittal, MC commissioner.
Though Mittal said she was confident that there would be no waterlogging in the city, two control rooms would be set up by MC, at Lahori Gate and Company Bagh, to tackle choked drains, where MC employees will work from July to September.