Clogged drains, overburdened STPs trigger monsoon fears

With the monsoon season almost set in, the Municipal Corporation of Amritsar faces a major challenge in protecting the city from waterlogging and drainage failures.

A large section of the city’s population is already struggling with problems of contaminated drinking water and overflow of clogged sewerage lines. With increased water usage during the summer months, the pressure on sewerage treatment plants (STPs) has surged, resulting in nearly 30 per cent more wastewater reaching these plants than their designated capacity. This has turned the sewerage situation into a serious concern, not just for residents but for the administration as well.

The worst-affected area is the Amritsar West Assembly constituency from where the highest number of complaints related to sewage blockages and stagnant water have been received. In response, the Municipal Corporation has initiated desilting operations in each Assembly segment using super sucker machines. Additionally, tenders worth Rs 35 lakh for each constituency have been floated to carry out extensive desilting work. However, these tenders are yet to be allotted, and the work will proceed further once the necessary formalities are completed.

To address the root cause of the issue, the Punjab Sewerage Board has begun work to expand the capacity of the Khapar Khedi STP by 50 million litres per day (MLD). While the new STP is expected to provide a long-term solution to the sewerage jam problem, it will take two years to complete and residents will have to wait for relief. At present, there are three main STPs operational in the city. The Khapar Khedi and Gosalabad plants, each with a treatment capacity of 95 MLD, are both receiving and processing 130 MLD of sewage daily, which is far beyond their designed limit. In contrast, the Chattiwind plant, which has a capacity of 27.5 MLD, is currently handling just 18 MLD and is operating comfortably within its limits.

According to Municipal Commissioner Gulpreeet Singh Aulakh, the work order for enhancing the capacity of the Khapar Khedi plant has already been issued. A proposal to increase the capacity of the Gosalabad STP is also in preparation. In addition to these upgrades, desilting of the collecting tanks at all the STPs is being carried out to ensure that wastewater continues to flow without obstruction. The commissioner assured that this task will be completed within the next 15 days.

Amritsar