6 MLD wastewater still flowing into Buddha Nullah, says sewerage board
At least 6 million litres daily (MLD) of wastewater was still flowing into the Buddha Nullah, one of the most polluted tributaries of the Sutlej, passing through Ludhiana before it confluences with the Sutlej and enters Rajasthan, the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) has said.
This submission was made by PWSSB Engineer-in-Chief Mukesh Garg before the high-level joint group of experts and senior officials from both Centre and Punjab, formed by the Union Government, for carrying out a time-bound action plan to clean and preserve the Sutlej tributary recently.
The development assumes significance as the state government had in December 2020 launched an ambitious project to rejuvenate the Buddha Nullah at the cost of Rs 840 crore but even after spending almost the entire corpus and lapse of over four years, the Sutlej tributary still remains polluted.
He said the untapped wastewater points, which were yet to be connected to CETPs, were flowing 2.25 MLD and 3.75 MLD wastewater from the dairy complex from where the untreated effluents were still being discharged into the nullah.
Garg said their department was working on the issue and most of the dairies had now been connected with the conveyance system leading to ETPs.
He said all dairies on Tajpur Road and in Haibowal Dairy Complex would be connected to the ETPs soon.
He also flagged that for proper operation of the ETPs, the disposal of cow dung into drains leading to the ETP conveyance system must be stopped by the Municipal Corporation (MC).
Regarding scattered dairies, he said wastewater was still being discharged into the sewage network and there was no provision of segregation of the dairy wastewater from the MC sewage network.
The committee members observed that the contribution of cow dung and wastewater from scattered dairies as well as from dairy complexes in the sewage network was affecting the working of all STPs and specifically the STP in Balloke.
The panel directed the departments concerned, including the MC and the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats (DRDP), to establish CBG plants, which was a permanent solution of cow dung management, besides strictly enforcing temporary interim measures for lifting of cow dung and its scientific disposal such as composting/vermi-composting and energy resource.
The DRDP was directed to play a proactive role to stop discharge of cow dung into the nullah under a comprehensive plan for the management of cow dung of dairy units located outside the MC limits and falling in the catchment area of the tributary on a priority basis.
The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) was instructed to explore possibilities of small/ household bio-digesters/cow dung gas plants/ composite plant or to accommodate cow dung of dairies located outside the MC limits and scattered dairies within the city to the proposed CBG plants of 300 TPD capacity being established on Tajpur Road and Haibowal Dairy Complex.
The committee asked the PWSSB to make immediate and adequate arrangements for connecting wastewater being generated from all dairies located on Tajpur Road and in Haibowal Dairy Complex with the CETP conveyance system and ensure that no effluent from these dairies was discharged into the nullah.
“The PWSSB should also ensure efficient functioning of the CETPs installed for dairy complexes, besides exploring the possibility of utilisation of treated effluents for dairies located in the respective dairy complexes for washing of floors and other such non-core purposes,” the panel directed.
The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA), Department of Water Resources (DWR), Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), MC and PWSSB were asked to take regulatory action under provisions of their acts and rules against all defaulter dairy units responsible for the discharge of cow dung and wastewater from their establishments.
Ludhiana