Receding groundwater levels and rising temperatures have once again made water crisis a hot topic in Ranchi. This entire hullabaloo, however, is falling short of urging civic guardians’ to mitigate the damage being done to city’s water bodies by drains and sewer lines emptying into them.
While Ranchi Municipal Corporation is planning to give a facelift to 11 ponds in the State capital, the urban local body has failed to close the sewer lines and drains dumping used water and sewerage into them. Even the plans formulated in the past to address this issue were forgotten with the passage of time.
Ponds in Madhukam, Morhabadi (Divyayan Pond), Hatma Basti, Teter Toli, Tunki Toli, Bariatu (Joda Talaab), Devi Mandap Road in Hesal, Kadru (behind Hajj House), Hindpiri (Chota Talaab), Dhumsatoli in Chutia and Banas Talaab have been earmarked for conservation and beautification under a project worth Rs 14,59,63,800. A separate project has been ideated for cleaning and revamping Ranchi lake too, popularly known as Bada Talaab.
Detailed Project Report for the beautification projects have been finalised and work is scheduled to begin shortly. “Tenders have been floated to invite bids from interested parties to take up the beautification work. The bids will be opened in two to three days and work will begin as soon as agencies are empanelled,” informed Deputy Mayor Sanjeev Vijaywargia.
People living around some of the ponds on this list and some others have stopped using water from these water bodies for their daily chores owing its impurity and due to the fear of water-borne diseases. Meanwhile, RMC is looking up to several of its projects to turn things around for good.
The sewerage-drainage project and solid waste management are will be effective in ensuring clean water in the ponds of Ranchi, stated the Deputy Mayor. “As the network of sewerage and drainage pipes is laid and the households are connected to it, unclean water will be no more dumped into ponds and rivulets in the city. Things will get better as the project is realised in its full potential in the next one and a half years,” Vijaywargia said.
Solid waste management will be put to use for preventing garbage from polluting water bodies, he further said. “Essel Infratech, the agency responsible for implementing solid waste management in Ranchi, will begin door to door waste collection and its disposal within one month. This will be helpful in ensuring that that no garbage makes its way to the ponds,” said Vijaywargia.
Several ponds which have been left out from the beautification project will be cleaned too before monsoon. The initiative was kicked off from Chutia on Friday, added the Deputy Mayor.
