The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Row over sewage treatment plant

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Friday, Jul 04, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Row over sewage treatment plant

Correspondent

VIZIANAGARAM: The Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) Executive Engineer left the meeting of Vizianagaram Municipality on Thursday after the Congress and TDP councillors refused the proposal to transfer the maintenance of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) from VUDA on the grounds that its design itself is faulty.

The works were executed and completed in 2004 by VUDA at a cost of Rs. 2.10 crores.

After the zero hour, Municipal Chairperson M. Geetha tabled the proposal for transfer of STP maintenance and asked the VUDA Executive Engineer R.G. Krishna Reddy to explain the salient features of the plant.

While he was explaining that the STP was designed to treat five million litres of sewage water per day in Pedda Cheruvu that is located in the heart of the town, the Congress Corporators Lenka Ramah Mohan Rao, S.V.V. Rajesh and TDP floor leader V.S. Prasad said that faulty design and coarse screens used as filters had been causing water logging at Clock Tower, Municipal office, PWD Market areas during rain. Informing the councillors that it was not designed to carry rainwater, the Executive Engineer said that the problem arose due to construction of a platform on the open drain for parking vehicles.

Meanwhile refusing to accept his statement, Mr. Lenka Mohan said after a writ petition was filed in the High Court and in the Lok Ayukta pointing towards the irregularities in the execution of the STP, the Town Development Committee that was constituted with MLA as the Chairman by the then Collector, hurriedly, constructed the platform on the drain opposite One Town police station and also at Prakasam Park as a coverup.

Moreover, he said that sewage water entering the tank from other points was not being diverted into the small ponds dug parallel to each other in the tank bed for biological treatment.

When the councillors demanded action against the officials responsible for the faulty design, the Executive Engineer informed the Chairperson to talk to the VUDA Vice-Chairman and left the meeting hall.

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