Maharashtra: 4 new STPs set to battle Indrayani river pollution

PUNE: The district administration is working on a plan to set up four sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Lonavla, Talegaon Dhabade, Kuruli and Alandi over the next one year for curbing the pollution of Indrayani river.
The condition of the river has deteriorated substantially as almost the entire stretch of its surface is covered by water hyacinth. This is the resultant effect of pollution. Release of untreated sewage water, generated at Lonavala, Talegaon Dhabade, Pimpri Chinchwad, Moshi and Alandi, has contributed to this situation.
"We plan to complete the STP projects in a year and have assigned work orders for the STPs at Lonavala and Talegaon Dabhade. Work orders for the Kuruli and Alandi STPs will be released in a few days,” Pune district collector Naval Kishor Ram told TOI.
The river originates from a spot near Lonavala and passes through Kamsheth, Talegaon Dhabade, Dehu, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Alandi before merging with Bhima river in Tulapur village, Shirur tehsil.
The Lonavala Municipal Council (LMC) has begun construction of 6 MLD capacity STP at Dongargaon village around 6km from the main town. “The old STP of 3.5 MLD capacity was not functional owing to multiple failure of systems in the last few months. The new STP’s work has begun at the site and we plan to complete the project by December 2020,” said Sachin Pawar, the LMC’s chief officer.
A 20km stretch of the river goes through the PCMC area. Many housing societies have released their drainage lines directly into the river at multiple locations. “We have initiated work for a drainage line network in Chikhali, Moshi and other areas which will be linked to STPs at Moshi and Charoli village. The work of a 15 MLD capacity STP at Chikhali is held up for now in view of a litigation before the NGT,” PCMC commissioner Shravan Hardikar said. “Alandi already has 4 MLD capacity STP which is not sufficient. We have decided to install new plant in coming months,” said Ram. Activist-lawyer Vilas Kate from Alandi said, “The river has literally turned black and remains the same all year .”