Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : PM Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of four sewerage projects costing Rs 738.04 crore and four National Highways projects of 195 km worth Rs 3,031 crore at Mokama in Patna district in Bihar on October 14, 2017. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping will also accompany the Prime Minister for the foundation stone laying ceremony.
The four sewerage projects include Sewage Treatment Plant at Beur, Sewerage System with Sewer Network at Beur, Patna, Sewage Treatment Plant at Karmalichak and STP and Sewer Network at Saidpur, Patna. These projects together will create new STP capacity of 120 MLD and upgrade the existing 20 MLD for Beur. This also includes sewer network of 234.84 km in Beur and Saidpur zones, according to aPIB release.
At Patna, seven other sewerage projects are at various stages of implementation of which two – Digha and Kankarbagh sewerage zones worth Rs 1,402.89 crore – are sanctioned under Hybrid Annuity-based PPP mode. The existing population of the city is 16,83,000 and the existing sewage generated in the city is 220 MLD and sewage load is expected to be 320 MLD by 2035. Compared to the existing sewage generation, the existing sewage treatment capacity is only 109 MLD. Also the existing STPs are outlived and are treating at a much lower capacity. The city also has 11 main drains which are discharging directly to river Ganga, according to thePIB release.
The areas like Digha and Kankarbagh has no treatment facility. Thus the present treatment capacity and sewer system need immediate reorganization and extension to uncovered areas besides proper operation and maintenance. Considering the existing treatment capacity of the city and existing waste generation and future waste generation till 2035, 11 projects under World Bank funding have been sanctioned for six zones which will create a total of 350 MLD of STP capacity and will lay 1140.26 km of sewerage network at a cost of Rs 3,582.41 crore, according to the release. After completion of these 11 projects, Patna will become a town having 100% sewerage infrastructure and no sewage water will drain into River Ganga.
Six projects regarding River Front Development (RFD)/Ghat and Crematoria (including Patna RFD) are under implementation at a cost of Rs 377.58 crore. One River Surface Cleaning project worth Rs 3.96 crore and two Afforestation projects worth Rs 24.92 crore are also under implementation. Under the River Surface Cleaning project, a trash skimmer has been deployed at Patna. Altogether 29 projects worth Rs 4,929.17 crore are under various stages of implementation in Bihar under Namami Gange Programme, according to the PIB release.
The four National Highways projects for which foundation stone will be laid include 4-laning of Aunta –Simariya section of NH-31 and construction of 6-lane Ganga Setu at a cost of Rs 1,161 crore, 4 laning of Bakhtiyapur-Mokama section of NH-31 at a cost of Rs 837 crore, 2-lane construction of Maheshkhunt- Saharsa-Purnia section of NH 107 at a cost of Rs 736 crore, and 2-lane construction of Biharsharif – Barbigha- Mokama section of NH-82 at a cost of Rs 297 crore.