A British-era sewage treatment plant (STP) dating back to the 1930s in Okhla drainage zone is all set to be replaced by a new treatment plant. The move has come in a bid to control the pollution-levels in the river Yamuna. The treated waste from the Okhla plant would be released in the river while the decades-old plant had worn out its capacity to handle the city's waste.
The treatment plant with a functioning capacity of treating sewage of 564 million litres per day (MLD) is going to be installed replacing the colonial plant, including three others.
The project, being anchored by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), is part of the Namami Gange programme, which is aimed at cleaning up of the national river by removing toxic waste and sewage from all its tributaries including the Yamuna. However, it will be implemented by Delhi Jal Board (DJB) this year.
"The executive committee of the NMCG earlier this month approved the replacement of four STPs by a single plant of 564 MLD to rid the river Yamuna of toxic waste," said a senior government official. "The new STP, for which land has already been earmarked, will take into account wastewater generation by 2021," he added.
The expected sewage generation in Okhla zone by 2021 is nearly 736 MLD.
The colonial-era STP which is going to be demolished had a functioning capacity of 136 MLD. The plant which had outgrown its capacity was abandoned in 2014.
The new STP to be set up, besides having better effluent standards and new technology will have biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of 10mg/l.
"The water treated from the new technology will be of much better quality. This will help reduce the polluting elements in the river," the official added.
...& ANALYSIS
- The oxygen levels in the river Yamuna have plummeted very low resulting in bad quality of the water, fit only for irrigation or industrial purposes. BOD levels is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by biological organisms to break down organic material.
- The government has spent over Rs 6000 crore to clean up the river Yamuna, but none of the projects have been successful.
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