The State government is set to establish faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs) at 71 locations across Telangana apart from Hyderabad.
Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development K.T. Rama Rao made an announcement to this effect on Saturday, after launching an FSTP at Uppal in Nalla Cheruvu. This plant, with a capacity to treat 40 kilo litres per day (KLD), was built by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) to recycle the faecal waste collected from septic tanks where underground sewerage facility is not available.
Also flagging off a total 87 septic tank cleaning vehicles from Peoples’ Plaza of Necklace Road, Mr.Rama Rao said Hyderabad is ahead of other cities in the country in sewage treatment. After ruling out manual labour in sewerage cleaning works by introducing mechanisation, the Water Board has now crossed another milestone through the establishment of FSTPs, he said.
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The plants will treat the waste collected from septic tanks of villages within the Outer Ring Road. Earlier, the faecal waste would be deposited in lakes, nalas and other water bodies brining enormous harm to environment and public health, the minister said. Septic tank cleaning vehicles have been pressed into service to prevent such damage. Operators of the vehicles have been trained in collecting the waste from septic tanks and dumping it in the FSTPs. The ‘Dial-a-Septic-Tank-Cleaning’ services may be availed by calling 155313/14420.
Two more FSTPs with 20 KLD capacity each are under construction in Nagarm and Injapur villages. The services will be offered to the public at a nominal price, Mr.Rama Rao said, assuring that health cards will be issued soon for the vehicle operators and labourers.
The Board has taken up construction of FSTPs to serve seven corporations, 18 municipalities and 18 village panchayats within ORR to which the board is already supplying drinking water.
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In order to transport and dump the waste at the existing STPs and proposed FSTPs, the Board has selected 87 operators and trained them in coordination with the Administrative Staff College of India. Apart from training, they have been provided uniforms and safety gear, a statement from the water board informed.
As of now, eight sewage treatment plants set up by HMWS&SB are functioning at Amberpet, Nalla Cheruvu, Pedda Cheruvu, Miralam Tank, Khajaguda, Nanakramguda, Nagole and Khajakunta, with 80 KLD capacity. They have treated 35 million litres of sewage till now, the note said.
Ministers Mohammed Mahmood Ali and Talasani Srinivas Yadav, MLA Danam Nagender, Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi and Deputy Mayor Srilatha Reddy, Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar, HMWS&SB managing director M. Dana Kishore, and other officials attended the event.