HYDERABAD: Illegal dumping of septage, containing faecal and other waste material, in the 11 erstwhile municipalities surrounding Hyderabad and within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits has become a big headache for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB).
“After collecting the faecal matter or the sludge from septic tanks of houses and apartment buildings in gulfer machines — septic tank cleaning machines, the private septic tank operators are clandestinely dumping the excrement in open spaces of erstwhile municipalities, River Musi, within ORR areas and other places leading to ground pollution and health hazards,” HMWS&SB officials told Express.
Such practice, though, is not prevalent in the core areas of twin cities as the sewage, including septage generated, is diverted to the Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs), through closed pipes for treatment at 18 STPs located in different parts of the city.
However, in the erstwhile municipalities surrounding the city, including LB Nagar, Gaddiannaram, Kukatpally, Quthbullapur, Kapra, Alwal, Malkajgiri, Uppal, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally, Patancheruvu and Ramachandrapuram there is no proper sewerage system for disposing the septage or the faecal matter.
The solution
The HMWS&SB has decided to put effective measures in place to tackle the problem. The Water Board will henceforth identify places where these private septic tank operators can unload the waste. There are about 18 STPs in and around the city where a temporary storage tanks will be procured or constructed. The septic tank operators can bring the collected waste to these storage tanks and unload them.