Gaushala point pumping stn to come up by March

Ludhiana: After a long haul, the construction of a pumping station near Gaushala point has finally started, which will help curb the direct discharge of sewer water into Buddha Nullah here. The delay in this station has been the biggest hurdle in the completion of the Buddha Dariya Rejuvenation Project, and since 2020, the officials have been unable to start the work here due to a legal battle.
Even now, the pumping station would take around a year to be completed, while the rest of the rejuvenation project is expected to be completed by August this year. This pumping station is crucial to make the rejuvenation project a success, as in its absence the direct discharge of untreated sewer water coming from nearby areas would continue to pollute the nullah, making all other efforts useless.
The municipal corporation had in 2020 selected land for the pumping station near Gaushala point, but a private person had claimed his rights over the property, and the dispute reached the court, which put a stay on construction here. The officials were meanwhile trying to find an alternate land for the project, but could not do so for a long time. The court has meanwhile vacated the stay and the work has finally been started here.
A senior official of Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board informed that the pumping station would pump the sewer discharge to the nearest sewage treatment plant (STP), and the work would be completed by March 2024. He further shared that only small works are currently going on which will be completed by June, while the effluent treatment plants for the dairy units will be completed by August.
Jamalpur STP still ‘ineffective’
Meanwhile, the 225 million litres per day (MLD) capacity STP in Jamalpur, which was inaugurated on February 20, is yet to show the desired results. The officials claimed that they are still receiving discoloured water at the plant, which proves that the industry effluents are still reaching the STP. They claimed if chemicals continued reaching the plant like this, the machinery would fail like it happened at the previous plant here.
Notably, the Buddha Dariya Rejuvenation Project was started on December 2, 2020, and it was then expected to be completed by December 2022, but its deadline was later extended to August 31, 2023.