Rlys indifferent to Mohali’s sewage pains

The STP was completed over a year ago,but when GMADA was connecting it with the discharge pipelines,to be laid beneath the Chandigarh-Morinda railway line,the Railways raised an objection and stopped the work.

The matter was resolved amicably after GMADA agreed to pay the cost to be incurred in the process to the Railways.

Though GMADA paid the agreed sum of Rs 4.8 crore to the Railways almost a year ago,the work to construct the 200-metre pipeline has not started till date.

In the absence of a functional STP,most of the city’s sewage flows into the seasonal N-choe,which originates from Chandigarh and passes through several parts of Mohali.

“We had planned to free the N-choe from the discharge with the setting up of the STP,but all our plans were thwarted,” said GMADA Chief Engineer Rajiv Moudgil. GMADA Sub-Divisional Engineer Ashok Virdi,who is in charge of the STP,said he had been repeatedly calling up the Railways authorities,but in vain. “They had assure me of starting the work soon,but haven’t done so till now,” said Virdi.

He added that keeping the plant closed for a long time could also result in some mechanical or technical snag.

On the other hand,Railways officials seemed non-committal about the delay. “The work will start within a couple of days and will be completed within two months,” said Railways Superintending Engineer S K Kataria. “The Railways is a big agency and has many jobs to do; such delays do not matter much,” he remarked.

Railways Junior Engineer Subhash Chander Verma,who is the field officer looking after the project,seemed completely oblivious of the project at hand. “The only thing I know is that the work has been allotted,” he said,admitting that no work had begun yet.

Rivulet of woes flows on
The flow of sewage and other hazardous untreated waste into the seasonal N-choe is playing havoc with the lives of residents of areas it passes through. The areas are Phases VIII,IX,X,XI,Sectors 66,67 and Chilla and Manauli villages in Mohali. The choe originates from near the Civil Secretariat in Sector 2 and passes through Rose Garden,Shanti Kunj,Sectors 16,23,36,41,42,Kajheri and Modern Jail,Burail. The polluted drain also crosses the international PCA cricket stadium,sports complex and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research. The effluents flowing in the drain are a source of various health and environment hazards.