Visakhapatnam: The pollution of water bodies and sanitation would continue to pose a challenge for the city despite various projects being taken up under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan as long as adequate sewage treatment plants are not set up. Only 52 per cent of the total sewage generated in the city is being treated now, GVMC executive engineer (UGD) K. Ram Mohan Rao said. The rest is released into the sea allowed to flow in open drains.
Work on the Rs 290-crore sewage treatment plant being built at Narava is incomplete, though its deadline was in March. According to municipal administration and urban development department dashboard, 89 per cent of the project has been completed. Pump houses will have to be set up and about 75,000 households will have to be connected to the underground drainage network once the 108-million litres per day STP starts functioning.
Rapid expansion of the city is also increasing the sewage burden. Environmentalists opine that sewerage facilities would not only check pollution, but also resolve the water crisis issue. The treated water from the plants could be supplied to the industries, which will help in water conservation. The existing water demand is 84 MGD, but the city gets 66 MGD, according to GVMC sources.
