Pammal, Anakaputhur to get sewerage system

Pammal, Anakaputhur to get sewerage system

Project Set To Cost ₹162Cr, Another ₹49Cr For STP

Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  17.12.2020

In a few years from now, residents of Pammal and Anakaputhur municipalities on the southern fringes of Chennai are likely to get an underground sewerage system.

The municipal administration and water supply (MAWS) department floated tenders worth ₹162crore for establishing the sewerage system including pumping stations and another tender worth ₹49crore for building and operating a 27-millionlitres-per-day capacity sewage treatment plant (STP). The tenders will have to be executed in two years. According to official documents, the STP is likely to be in a location called Kalmaduvu under the Anakaputhur municipality.

At present, residents in these areas dispose their sewage in septic tanks which have to be periodically removed by the municipalities using tanker lorries. There have been many reported incidents of these lorries dumping sewage in water bodies in the vicinity.

According to official documents, population of the two municipalities, which fall in Kancheepuram district, is likely to touch 2.37lakh by 2036 and around 3.17lakh by 2051. The sewerage system would be divided into 10 zones across the two municipalities.

The documents also indicate that these local bodies are likely to be merged with Greater Chennai Corporation in the future. Chennai has an underground sewerage system. The MAWS department is likely to identify a space of around 11acres for the sewage treatment plant. This would have a bio-digester plant which would produce biogas for production of electricity. According to official documents, this is likely to have a lesser operation and maintenance cost compared to other options. Settlements along the Adyar river banks would have to be evicted for the project, the documents also show.

The civic bodies would also explore options to sell the treated water from the plant to industries and conduct a study to calculate the demand from bulk industrial customers.

The local bodies will explore options to discharge the treated sewage in the Adyar river a part of which also falls in the Anankaputhur municipality. Government sources say the sewerage scheme would ensure that pollution of water bodies would be checked. Also, treatment of sewage centrally would ensure prevention of manual scavenging which happens when septic tanks are cleaned.

A sewerage system would also help in improving public health by reducing communicable diseases and prevent pollution to surface and ground water.

Local activist David Manohar said this would have other benefits as well. “Septic tanks take up extra space which will be prevented with an underground sewerage system. Also, people need to shell out a lot of money to private tankers for clearing of septic tanks. This is one of the ways local politicians make money as well,” he said.

Thirupananthal lake at Pammal filled with sewage