MARGAO: Even as the installation of a new mechanical screen for the wet well of the dysfunctional Sewage Treatment Plant at Sirvodem-Navelim is being undertaken, the Public Works Department has temporarily stopped accepting raw sewage brought by night soil tankers for treatment, due to the ongoing work.
The officials of PWD have high hopes that the new mechanical screen will help in resolving the issues faced by the STP, in treating septic waste. However, operators of the night soil tankers claim that they are facing a tough time as they have been directed to take raw sewage to the Sewage Treatment Plant at Vasco, and it costs them more to do so.
The non-functional STP at Navelim hit the news after Benaulim MLA Venzy Veigas and PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral got into a spat over the release of untreated sewage from the plant, into a canal that flows into River Sal. “The installation of a new mechanical screen will help us resolve the problems faced by the STP, as the waste in the night soil tankers often have larger materials that damage the motors of the wet well. The screen will help sort and filter these bigger materials,” said Joaquim Fernandes, Executive Engineer, PWD. The raw sewage collected in the wet well is later supplied to the other two plants for further treatment, and also helps store raw sewage. The owners of the night soil tankers have however been hit by this new arrangement, and complain that it is costing them dearly. “We are being charged Rs 1,000 to deposit a tank with a capacity of more than 500 litres at STP. Now, we are burdened further as we have to transport the raw sewage from Margao and the surrounding areas to Vasco,” said the owner of the tanker.
Presently, the PWD has asked them not to take any night soil to the Sirvordem STP till November 20, as the installation of the mechanical screen is still in progress.
Meanwhile, Savio Dias, the petitioner in the case pertaining to the sewage discharge issue, told Herald that he inspected the 20 MLD STP at Sirvodem and observed that the faulty part was replaced on Friday.
“The STP is functioning satisfactorily, after the replacement of the faulty spare part,” said Dias.
