Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, May 9: First phase of work on house connections under mega Sewage Project in Jammu is likely to begin by ending of this month as the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Bhagwati Nagar is almost ready for commissioning.
Final touches are being given for commissioning of the STP where culturing process of Bio-Media for treatment of household sewage is going on and the procedure would take hardly 10 to 15 days more.
This was informed to the Excelsior by Sourabh Bhagat, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA).
“The commissioning of Sewage Treatment Plant will be followed by initiation of work on house connections with STP in three phases with a deadline of June 2014 for its completion,” he added.
The mega Sewage Project currently under execution in Jammu city at an overall cost of Rs 108.31 crore is being funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ERA is the executing agency. The project has 146 kilometer sewer network of which 106 kilometers have already been laid in old city, Janipur, Talab Tillo, Bakshi Nagar, Bhagwati Nagar and other adjoining areas. All households in the project areas will be given the house connection free of cost with the Treatment Plant in a phased manner.
According to Mr Bhagat, there are more than 28000 households, which would be connected with the Treatment Plant through sewer network. “In the first phase, which is all set to begin by ending of this May, 3500 households from Bhagwati Nagar to RRL area will be given connection for which a detailed survey has already been completed,” he informed.
It will be followed by the connectivity to remaining households in Talab Tillo, Bakshi Nagar, Janipur and other areas under phase II and III in a time limit of one year and June 2014 as the deadline.
Admitting that commissioning of STP at Bhagwati Nagar and initiation of work on house connections got delayed by over a month owing to some technical reasons, Mr Bhagat sought to explain that the executing agency avoided to finish work in a hurry for the sake of meeting deadlines.
Though the STP was almost ready after laying of a vital pipe beneath the Ranbir Canal near the office of Chief Engineer PDD in first week of April, the work on house connections could not be initiated before culturing of Bio-Media, which is unique feature of a Sewage Treatment Plant and process for the same takes around 35 days, Mr Bhagat explained.
After completion of the mega Project, more households and business establishments could be connected to the STP on payment basis.
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