TO COVER OR NOT TO COVER-WHICH IS BETTER?
Delhi Jal Board wants halt to cover job of drains
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NEW DELHI: Delhi Jal Board has approached the lieutenant governor,
asking for his intervention in the matter of drains being covered in the
city. The water utility says that sewage is missing out on the phenomenon of natural cleaning through aeration and it would like all drain covering work to stop.
The LG, through Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre, said last year that as far as possible no drain should be covered though some exceptional projects would be cleared. Despite that order many projects are still on or in the planning stage but the latest such project which has environmentalists worried is the construction of a new Dilli Haat on a covered drain near Akshardham by DDA, an agency headed by the LG himself.
"The drains are owned by civic agencies but the treatment of sewage is a responsibility that falls on DJB's shoulders. Once the drain is covered, there is no aeration or impact of sunlight. There is a build up of gases like methane and if one pays attention, they will realize that there is always a stench around the covered drains," said sources.
Officials are also opposing covering of drains since cementing the base is also reducing the groundwater recharge potential. The matter has also been discussed with the Central Ground Water Board. "In the process of covering the drain, agencies are cementing not just the top but also the bottom and the sides. Delhi has a large network of drains, carrying sewage and storm water, and by cementing these, ground water recharge will be severely affected. For Delhi, which is already facing a massive fall in ground water levels, this practice will have huge repercussions," said an official.
The Board is recommending that instead of cementing, porous and interlocking tiles be used for lining the drain which are then covered by sand. "This will provide not just structural stability but also help in ground water recharge. The matter has been discussed with senior government officials and ideally, all further work of covering drains should stop immediately," said an official.
Most of the drains that are being covered will be used for surface level parking. Despite the LG's directions and his in-principal objection to drain covering, project after project has been cleared.
Sewage is deprived of natural cleaning through aeration, says the agency. Drains should not be covered as far as possible, it argues.
The LG, through Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre, said last year that as far as possible no drain should be covered though some exceptional projects would be cleared. Despite that order many projects are still on or in the planning stage but the latest such project which has environmentalists worried is the construction of a new Dilli Haat on a covered drain near Akshardham by DDA, an agency headed by the LG himself.
"The drains are owned by civic agencies but the treatment of sewage is a responsibility that falls on DJB's shoulders. Once the drain is covered, there is no aeration or impact of sunlight. There is a build up of gases like methane and if one pays attention, they will realize that there is always a stench around the covered drains," said sources.
Officials are also opposing covering of drains since cementing the base is also reducing the groundwater recharge potential. The matter has also been discussed with the Central Ground Water Board. "In the process of covering the drain, agencies are cementing not just the top but also the bottom and the sides. Delhi has a large network of drains, carrying sewage and storm water, and by cementing these, ground water recharge will be severely affected. For Delhi, which is already facing a massive fall in ground water levels, this practice will have huge repercussions," said an official.
The Board is recommending that instead of cementing, porous and interlocking tiles be used for lining the drain which are then covered by sand. "This will provide not just structural stability but also help in ground water recharge. The matter has been discussed with senior government officials and ideally, all further work of covering drains should stop immediately," said an official.
Most of the drains that are being covered will be used for surface level parking. Despite the LG's directions and his in-principal objection to drain covering, project after project has been cleared.
Sewage is deprived of natural cleaning through aeration, says the agency. Drains should not be covered as far as possible, it argues.
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