Hyderabad: Apathy leaves Safilguda STP works hanging

While the Safilguda lake already has an STP to treat 0.6 million litres per day (MLD), it does not have the capacity to treat the total amount of sewage water the plant currently receives

Hyderabad: The second Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), which is under construction at Safilguda Lake, could fail to live up to its objective of treating sewage water from nearby colonies. All thanks to the lack of coordination between civic departments and a whole lot of silt that has accumulated over time.

While the lake already has an STP to treat 0.6 million litres per day (MLD), it does not have the capacity to treat the total amount of sewage water the plant currently receives. It was built according to the need in early 2000s and multiple residential colonies have come up in the area since.

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The second plant built adjacent to the existing one is expected to be functional in a month. However, Malkajgiri MLA Marri Rajashekhar Reddy has pointed out that it would be ineffective unless the silt, which got deposited, is cleared.

“At least three feet of silt is amassed where they are building this check dam for STP. The sewage comes from adjoining colonies like Balram Nagar and the capacity of the plant will deplete if it is not cleared. It can also overflow,” he said, adding that despite his repeated efforts to get the silt lifted, neither GHMC nor HMWS&SB took action.

Around 4.8 MLD of sewage water is diverted to the Safilguda Lake from Balram Nagar, Sai Krishna Nagar, Sitharam Nagar and other colonies. Earlier, water from RK Puram and nearby areas was also pumped to the old STP.

“GHMC says the Water Board will take care of the silt and Water Board says it’s GHMC’s responsibility. There is no coordination between them. This is why a Convergence Meeting should take place periodically which will help them undertake development work more effectively,” asserted Reddy.

According to the civil engineer at the plant, once the STP is functional it can process up to 5.5 MLD and it is being built as per the intake estimates for 2035. When asked about the silt, “Whatever is within the plant, we will clean it before handing it over,” he said, without commenting on the silt that may be hindering the intake into STP.

The HMWS&SB official responsible for the STP maintained that there was no silt in the premises of the plant, and said that anything to be cleared in the lake would be the responsibility of GHMC.