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Dimapur, Jan. 14 (EMN): Nagaland’s first sewage treatment plant at Shozukhu village in Dimapur district was inaugurated by the Minister of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Jacob Zhimomi on Saturday.
Speaking at the inauguration programme, Jacob Zhimomi said, ‘This project has saved the skin of the (Nagaland) government because in any city in the country, the waste management plan is a cause of concern for the government of India.
He thus assured that any improvement required in the future, as far as the sewage treatment plant is concerned, will be taken up by the government “because we have to upgrade our system as per demand and requirement.”
He stated that the project -- first sewage treatment plant -- was a challenging task and acknowledged the department engineers for their efforts in completing the project. He said that the rivers in Dimapur (Dhansiri and Diphu) are highly polluted and a lot of wastes are discharged into these rivers.
‘The government of India has taken very serious concern about the rivers in the country and so even in Nagaland, the two rivers were targeted to intercept the sewage discharge to these two rivers by way of having a stabilising pond,’ he said.
He told the Shozukhu villagers that even though waste will be dumped, he assured them that the technicalities involved in this project will be ‘eco-friendly, environment- friendly and will send a positive message across the country’.
He reminded that along with the rest of the country, Nagaland has also declared open defecation-free (ODF) in 2018, and now the state is entering a new phase (ODF+) which includes sanitation, waste management, and grey water management .
‘The project (first sewage treatment plant) has taken a long time to complete but let us not discuss the duration but be happy and rejoice for completing the project,’ he said.
The sewage treatment plant is aimed at pollution abatement of Diphu and Dhansiri rivers, funded under National River Conservation Plan (NRCP); and is designed to prevent and control over pollution of Diphu and Dhansiri rivers by interventions such as interception, diversion and treatment of the drains that are draining into the rivers.
Thsathrichem Sangtam, Chief Engineer, Sanitation and ESSO, PHED, informed that the project was approved and sanctioned in 2005, by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) under NRCP; at present, the project is monitored by NRCP Directorate under Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Sangtam said that the total cost of the project was INR 78.65 crore, and 70% of the project was funded by the Centre and 30% by the state.
The project was sanctioned on Aug. 30, 2005; started on Dec. 5, 2005; and completed on March 31, 2022.
He further mentioned that the objective of the project(first sewage treatment plant) is interception, diversion and treatment of waste water flowing into the river to prevent and control organic pollution loadings of Dhansiri and Diphu rivers.
The two main works of the project are interception and collection of waste water sources from three drains namely, Lengri nullah, hospital nullah and sugar mill nullah that are draining into the Dhansiri river; and diversion of the drains from collection point to sewage treatment plant for treatment located at Shozukhu village.
Components of the projects include interception and diversion works, sewage treatment plant based on waste stabilisation ponds technology, laboratories and equipment, administrative building and staff quarters, low cost sanitation, afforestation and public awareness programme.
Sangtam stated that in the detailed project report, upon completion of the project, PHED has to hand over the project officially to the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) for its operation and maintenance work. However, during the initial phase of its function, the department will operate and maintain it after which it will be officially handed over to the DMC.
He also informed that the total minimum annual operational cost is INR 24.5 lakh approximately.
Short speeches were also delivered by S Ghozheto Aye, Head GB of Shozukhu village, Mhalo Humtsoe, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur, and Mhathung Tungoe, Secretary, PHED, Nagaland.
Happy to fulfill the vision of HPM @narendramodi ji today at the inauguration of pollution abatement of rivers Diphu & Dhansiri at Dimapur funded by NRCP at STP site Shozukhu village.@MoJSDoWRRDGR @moefcc @swachhbharat @SwachhBharatGov @MyGovNagaland #Greywatermanagement pic.twitter.com/LCZe4MSVcy
— Jacob Zhimomi (@jacob_zhimomi) January 14, 2023