KWIL moots 567 septic tanks for houses along Parvathy Puthanar

Thiruvananthapuram: Having cleared Parvathy Puthanar of weeds and piles of waste, Kerala waterways and infrastructure limited (KWIL) plans to undertake a significant step to ensure that the good work is not wasted away. They have prepared a proposal with an estimate of Rs 1.3 crore to construct 567 septic tanks.
A survey was carried out from Karali bridge to Thiruvallom to identify houses without septic tanks and results show that not even 20% of houses by the side of the canal have got a system to dispose of septage. With septage continuing to flow into the canal from households, the officials are wary that the aquatic vegetation would soon infest the canal and crores of rupees worth work done over the past one year would go down the drain.

“We first thought of laying sewage lines and connecting them to the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Muttathara. However, in the long run these lines will have to be displaced for the canal widening project. Hence, we thought about constructing septic tanks for individual households and the plan is to make use of funds from Swachh Bharat Mission. We have talked to Suchitwa Mission and city corporation regarding the project,” an official associated with the project said.

Septic tanks need to be constructed for 744 houses and the initial plan is to cover at least 567 houses as clubbing of houses is also being considered.

Around 750 houses by the side of Parvathy Puthanar pump sewage directly into the canal as per the report prepared by inland navigation department, which cleaned the canal in 2015 at a cost of Rs 68 lakh. However the cleaning drive which had consumed two long months went in vain as Parvahy puthanar continued to be polluted due to ceaseless discharge of sewage.

Many of the houses have been built close to the canal and since some areas around Vallakadavu, Chackai and Moonatumukku do not figure in sewerage scheme of the city, the residents have been forced to direct the sewage to the canal, an official said.

In order to address this issue, the civic body is planning to set up a community sewage collection tank from where sewage could be transported to Muttathara. The project will be implemented using funds from AMRUT. First phase of the project will receive maximum Rs 3.72 crore and part of this fund will be directed towards laying sewerage network near Parvathy Puthanar and cleaning of the canal.