BENGALURU: As part of a spate of inauguration of projects in March last year just before the Assembly elections, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had declared open a sewage treatment plant (STP) at Kengeri. It was intended to treat 60 Million Litres Per Day (MLD) of waste water from the catchment area of the Vrishabhavati Valley before it entered the Byramangala lake located in Bidadi, 40 km away from the city. A year down the line, the plant operated by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) treats only one-fourth of its proposed capacity.
Most of the sewage from the catchment area of the Valley continues to pollute the lake. A high-powered diesel generator treats 15 MLD of sewage while the rest enters the lake untreated. To treat the proposed sewage by the STP, 4500 Kilo Volt Amperes (max demand a month) is required and that supply has not reached the plant so far. According to a senior Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) official, the required power for the plant was sanctioned for BWSSB over six months ago. “We okayed the supply of 4500 KVA from our 220 KVA receiving station at Rajarajeshwari Nagar to the 220 KVA receiving station at Vrishabhavati Valley.
As it is a self-execution project, the supply of electricity from there can flow through only after BWSSB puts in place the necessary infrastructure like Breaker and a 11 KV cable linking it to its STP plant at Kengeri. Permission from the Chief Electrical Inspectorate (CIE) too has to be obtained by the Water Board before we start the supply,” he said.
A top BWSSB official said that the infrastructure has been laid and the file for approval has been sent to the CIE too. “We hope to run the plant to its full capacity of 60 MLD soon,” he said.
Officials of KPTCL, BESCOM as well as BWSSB remained tightlipped about the plant still not ready for operation.