District in-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari on Monday said that arrangements would be made to reactivate the Pachchanady Sewage Treatment Plant by availing of ₹ 5 crore grant from the government.
He was speaking at a meeting to address problems arising out of the malfunctioning of the treatment plant at the administrative office of Dr. K. Shivaram Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama near here. The Nisargadhama too gets part of the treated water for watering plants and other purposes and is facing problems on account of the plant’s malfunctioning.
Mr. Poojari said that residents of the area have been complaining about their miseries following the plant’s malfunctioning. Untreated sewage was being let into the Pachchanady Thodu which joins the Phalguni (Gurupura) thereby polluting the river water too. The Minister directed the officials concerned to address the issue.
He said that technical problems affecting the plant would have to be rectified within a month following which sewage would be treated before it is let out. The modernisation work would be taken up after getting technical report from the National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, Mr. Poojari said and added that the work thus should help stop untreated water being let out permanently.
Moodbidri MLA K. Umanath Kotian, in whose constituency the area falls, said that the malfunctioning of the plant has affected groundwater, including tanks, open wells and borewells, in the entire region. Untreated sewage has been polluting stored water in the Malavoor Vented Dam across the Phalguni that caters to the drinking water requirements of many villages under the multi-village drinking water project, he said.