The construction of the decentralised sewerage treatment system at Edakochi will begin early next month.
The soil test for the ₹15.50-crore project, which is coming up in Division 16, Edakochi South, near Ambedkar Colony, will begin shortly. It will be the first decentralised project in the Kochi Corporation area. Earlier attempts to set up a plant in Fort Kochi had to be called off following public protest.
The Edakochi project too faced public resistance but of a different kind, as the civic authorities moved ahead with its implementation. At Edakochi, the resistance came from a few local sports clubs, which had been using the area where the plant has been proposed, as a playground. The issue was discussed at an all-party meeting, said V.A. Sreejith, chairman of the education standing committee of the corporation.
The Mayor has assured youths of the area that a playground will be developed for them in place of the holding where the plant will come up. The issue was also discussed at the meeting, which assured the civic body of all support for setting up the plant, he said.
A mini park will also be set up atthe nearly 50-cent holding.
The project, which is implemented using funds from the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, will help in treating waste water released from the nearly 2,200 households in the area. The water that is treated at the plant can be reused, especially for construction purposes. Pipelines will have to be drawn along a distance of 20 km for connecting households with the plant.
Projects for setting up two more decentralised plants in the West Kochi region are in the pipeline.
While one decentralised sewerage treatment system has been proposed in Edakochi North at the holding of Madhura Company, spending around ₹13.78 crore, another project has been mooted for Perumpadappu at a holding located opposite St. Juliana Public School, Pai Road. The project will cost ₹15.28 crore.
