BHUBANESWAR: The next time you feel wretched at the sight of an overflowing sewer, don’t fret. Just pick up your phone and dial Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the problem will be resolved. In a first for any civic body in the country, the BMC has implemented the national toll free number – 14420 – to receive complaints related to faecal sludge management.
The number was launched by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs to resolve complaints such as availability of cesspool vehicle, unauthorized dumping and disposal of sludge as well as unauthorized transportation of sludge. The BMC has linked its earlier number (18003450061) to the national toll-free number.
“The national toll-free service is exclusively meant for complaint redressal. Citizens can dial the number and lodge complaint related to chocked sewerage, sludge extraction and lifting, dumping and disposal of muck. Besides, complaints can also be lodged if cesspool vehicle doesn’t arrive on time, unauthorized private parties lift the sludge and charge an exorbitant price for it and there is a leakage in the sewerage system or septic tank at home,” BMC deputy commissioner Suvendu Sahu said.
The BMC had recently earned ISO 9001 quality certification for better faecal sludge and septage management (FSSM) services. Prior to getting the certificate, BMC had introduced affordable tariff for extraction and disposal of sludge by cess poll vehicles. Earlier, the cost of lifting of sludge, for each trip, was Rs 900. But now slum residents can avail the service for Rs 492 (excluding taxes). In each trip, two slum households can be covered, so each household will have to bear Rs 280 (including tax).
The BMC has procured eight cesspool vehicles with a capacity of 3,000 litres each and has authorized 30 private parties to extract and dump sludge at designated sewerage treatment plant at Basuaghai.
“We have standardized the tariff. If the authorized private parties ask for more than the revised tariff, penal action will be taken once complaint reaches through the national toll free number. The new tariff will not be a burden on residents and they need not shy away from availing the services, whenever their septic tanks get full. This will ensure a cleaner environment, more dependence on household and community latrine and will pave way for an open defecation free slum,” Sahu added.