Projcet to clean river waters (The Tribune 04 June 2011)

Patiala, June 3. In an ambitious project to find a solution to the untreated waste flowing in the rivers of the state, the Punjab Pollution Control Board has decided to initiate a project under which the sullied water will be treated and recycled for irrigation.
The project is being drawn in association with the Irrigation Department.
The state government is working on linking the Sutlej, Beas and Ghaggar through “a dedicated corridor”.
”The crux is to treat the sewage water by installing a treatment plant and laying sewer lines to carry this water for irrigation,” says an internal Pollution Control Board project report.
Documents, in possession of The Tribune, show that following the central government nod to the implementation of the River Conservation Project, the Punjab Government has decided to use the “treated water from these rivers for irrigation purposes” through a dedicated corridor.
The government is learnt to have selected 14 towns where work on treatment of sewage being thrown into the rivers by the industry and municipal authorities will be treated and then used for irrigation under the supervision of the Pollution Control Board. Sources in the government said: “The Forests and Environment Ministry has already given its sanction to the Punjab Government to start work in the five towns of Phillaur, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Banga, Phagwara and Jalandhar (under the River Conservation Project) on the Satluj at a cost of Rs 319.09 crore”.
A senior officer of the Irrigation Department said another project costing over Rs 640.51 crore and covering 18 districts was in the pipeline. PPCB Chairman Rajat Agarwal said the project would be completed with help from the Irrigation Department. “ It is a big one-of-its- kind project that will help overcome the problem of pollution in the river waters to a large extent”, he added.
Sewage treatment plants (STP)
Laying lines to carry irrigation waters
Areas on the Sutlej for installation of STP include Ropar, Naya Nangal, Anandpur Sahib, Kurali, Phillaur, Macchiwara, Nawanshahar, Banga, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara, Jalandhar and Moga
Areas on the Beas include Mukerian, Dasuya, Tanda Urmur, Sulatnpur Lodhi, Bholath and Pathankot
Areas on the Ghaggar include Zirakpur, Patiala, Sardulgarh and Mohali