Hyderabad: The apathy of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials have been leading to sewerage outflow across the city.
A year ago, both the nodal agencies, had conducted a survey that came out with a solution that all major gated communities, commercial establishments, restaurants, hotels, hospitals and multi storeyed buildings should set up a silt chamber on the premises to avoid sewer chokage and overflow in the city.
The water board even said that it would impose fines for not setting up sewerage lines in the stipulated time as prescribed by the board.
However, due to the nexus between the ground level staff and hotel managements, lack of enforcement from municipal authorities, silt chamber installation could be hardly seen in city eateries.
Even board officials were clueless about its implementation and the number of establishments where silt chambers were installed.
The reasoning behind the recommendation to install silt chambers within the consumers’ premises was that it would trap the solid waste, and allow free flow of water through the sewer lines, making it the consumer’s responsibility to clear the silt and dispose it off with the wet garbage. The city has 38,000 commercial establishments and 19,000 multi-storeyed blocks, including government buildings.
One of the major violations being made by hotels managements is not establishing silt chambers.
Apart from food waste, the common things extricated from sewer lines include plastic covers, sanitary napkins, and sometimes even pillow covers!
Even though nodal agencies instructed the managements to establish silt chambers to prevent trash from entering the sewer lines, not many complied with the norms. This practice is not only choking the sewer lines but is also damaging the roads as the water stagnates on the roads.
As per rules, hotels and restaurants are supposed to follow prescribed guidelines but the majority of the managements, especially the biryani joints do not adhere to them.
However, during inspections done for two months between June and August 2017, the authorities levied penalties worth over '16 lakh against 208 managements after inspecting 373 hotels. According to highly placed sources, inspection came to a grinding halt due to nexus between ground level staff and hotel managements.
When queried about the same subject, HMWSBB officials said that the department did not have keep track of the number of silt chambers installed in the city.
However, sources informed that notices from the water board have already been served to about 6,000 commercial establishments mainly hotels and multi-storeyed blocks (apartment complexes) for construction of the chambers, meant to separate solid waste thrown in the sewer lines from water. Of those who received notices, only 350 have complied so far.
A GHMC official admitting the lack of action said that the corporation would seek the help of the Water Board and Police department during the silt chamber inspection.
“The responsibility of levying a fine would be shared with police and the Board, besides Assistant Medical Officer of Health from the civic body. Three way penalisation would be only way to prevent city sewerage overflow. The choking of sewerage has not only been irking commuters because of the water flow but is also damaging the roads at regular intervals,” the official added.
