Abattoir waste flows into sewer…..Sharad Vyas
Mumbai: Millions of litres of untreated waste flowed out from the BMCs Deonar abattoir directly into the citys sewer network on Wednesday,as an internal effluent treatment plant broke down,sparking an environmental nightmare.The 64-acre plant,working on three submersible and two dry pumps each powered by a 15 hp motor,had to be shut for two hours on Wednesday after it was overburdened and consequently overflowed.
The abattoirs treatment plant is turned on for nearly three hours a day,where 1.3 million litres of waste is treated with the help of two submersible pumps inside the wet well,where waste water accumulates.Pumps inside the dry well are rarely used.
In the morning we saw smoke coming out of submersible pumps,threatening to wreak havoc on their motors.We could not have let the plant crash completely,so a call was taken to cancel operations for over two hours.While we knew it was hazardous to let untreated waste into the sewer,the decision was taken hoping it might eventually get treated at the Ghatkopar lagoon before being allowed to flow into the creek, said an engineer from the Deonar abattoir.
However,what shocked environmentalists and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) was the haphazard way in which waste was let into a nine-inch sewer connected to an 18-inch main line outside the Deonar police station,which takes water to the Ghatkopar treatment plant.
There is a danger that this waste could get mixed up with other underground pipelines,such as water and storm water drains.We are surprised this has happened despite serving them two notices in the recent past when the plants blower went off.Though the BMC keeps claiming they can’t do much because of the burden,but still we will issue a fresh show-cause notice to them, said a senior official of MPCB.
BMC officials said there is no way but to carry on with the arrangement for another two days of Eid.This would mean untreated waste generated from the slaughter of about 8,000 animals every day would have to be let out into the sewer network for two more days.
Modernization In-The-Waiting
Babattoir plans a to make the fully-automatic unit has been on hold for over four years now.It was announced in 2006.Three consultants were finalized for the project,aimed at expanding exports to the US and Europe.With the new technology,the BMC had hoped to reduce slaughter and package time by 50%.But the scheme has been on hold initially due to red tape and since 2008 due to the civic bodys funds crunch