The 30-month-long project to restore and rejuvenate the dying Harmu River has been instituted in full swing. After three-and-half month of implementation of Harmu River Conversation project, the river has started to regain its life and beauty.
“We have marked out the land which is to cleaned and constructed pillars for the boundary. The beautification will be in two in phases. The first step would be to extract all the waste material in and around the river. And second would involve cleanliness. There would be installation of sewerage treatment plant which would prevent the dirty water to flow into the river. Almost half of the work has been completed and we expect that the project will be completed within the time frame,” said Jharkhand Urban Development Corporation (JUDCO) GM Umesh Mehta.
The Mumbai-based M/S Eagle Infra India limited was given the project for the beautification and conservation of the Harmu River. The Government has allocated `87crore for the project and ordered to complete the work in 30 months.
“The work of excavation of garbage and waste material is on progress. The excavation will help us to work in a planned way and will help us to mark the land which is to renovate,” further added Mehra.
The river which flows through the heart of the city had almost died with the dumping of solid wastes and encroachment. Mehra said, “We will see to it that the solid wastes are not dumped in the river. A proper sewerage system will be developed so that the water flowing into the river will be treated first and then released. A solid waste management system will be installed.”
Talking about the replacement of slum dwellers around the river, he said, “There has been no plan to their replacement. We have identified the encroached land and reported it to district commissioner. A committee will be formed on how to replace and what should be done to the dwellers around the river.”
“The problem of open defecation around the beds of river will be solved by constructing 31 community toilets and a 2.5 meters pathway will be constructed around the river for purpose of jogging. We will plant trees to increase the beauty of the place and fence the marked area,” he further added.
The rejuvenation of the lifeline of the Ranchi will be beneficial as the city residents will able to get clean water and the problem of drinking water will be solved to some extent.