Rourkela: The newly-done sewage treatment plant (STP) at Balughat on the bank of the Brahmani river here is unable to function at its full capacity. Sources however said that it is not due to any technical fault. Built at a cost of Rs 240 crore the entire system is meant to serve a large locality including Udit Nagar, Civil Township, Chhend Colony, Basanti Colony, Panposh, and Orampara. “The project has the capacity to cover 12,000 households,” said the superintendent engineer (SE) of the Sewage Board here, Basant K Dakia. “The STP has a capacity of 40 million litres per day, but currently we are receiving just eight million litres. This is because only 1,450 households have connected to the plant,” Dakia added. Explaining the low connectivity Dakia said the end users, ‘are not showing enough interest’.
Others attributed the low connectivity, due to the desire to get everything for ‘free’. One of the users of the system, however, pointed out that most of the residents are not aware that the connectivity is free of cost. “When you apply for power or water connection you pay a charge but here there is no issue. Despite this, the residents are showing very flimsy grounds for not availing of the STP system,” the user added. However, there is also a catch involved. Connectivity to the STP is free of cost. However, each and every household will have to bear the expenses of getting connected to the STP or the nearest manhole.
However, it is a one-time expense, which people should utilise, pointed out Dakia. “We are providing residents with technical assistance while they are getting the connection done. In some cases even our person visits the spot to help out,” Dakia added. The official also informed us that his department is keen to get every household connected. “We are conducting meetings, door-to-door campaigns to develop awareness among the people about the utility of the STP. I am hopeful that very soon many more people will get connected to the system,” Dakia said.