New lease of life for water bodies in death throes

By ARCHANA JYOTI

New Delhi, Nov. 4: Delhi’s civic authorities are waking up to the slow death of the water bodies scattered all over the city.

With a view to giving them a fresh lease of life, the Delhi Jal Board and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi have constituted a task force to protect the water bodies, which have reduced into marshes and become contaminated due to runoff pesticides, raw sewage, fertilisers, heavy metals and their subsequent leaching into the soil of the water bodies.

It has not only led to a depletion of the groundwater reserve, these water bodies are also becoming breeding grounds of bacteria and viruses causing dangerous diseases.

Most of these water bodies fall in areas which are not connected to any public sewage treatment plants and where the ground water levels are falling or raw sewage is entering into the water resources. The task force would ensure decentralised waste water management around these sites.

To begin with, two water bodies and two marshes have been selected — namely Jahangirpuri and Sonia Vihar marsh, Sanjay lake in Mayur Vihar Phase-II and the Shahdara lake, where the water will be treated so that it can be used for non-potable purposes.

The unauthorised colonies at Vasant Vihar will also get treated water on the site itself. The financial aspect of the project is, however, yet to be worked out."These areas have a mix of settlements such as slums, JJ clusters and even established communities with housing. Some of them have sewerage and disposal facilities while others don’t," said an MCD official.

He said site plans with the study areas marked on them will be furnished by the MCD and the DJB to the shortlisted consultant.

The task force has decided to appoint one or more consultants to carry out feasibility studies on the technical, financial and social viability aspects of decentralised waste water management for these identified sites.

"This would cover a large number of unsewered areas in Delhi and treat their waste waters so as to improve the general sanitation and health within the areas. Also, water quality in the Yamuna river can be protected besides ensuring a reduction in the depletion rate of the aquifers," the official said