Srinagar: After missing many deadlines, the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) has successfully upgraded Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) technology in Srinagar.
Lack of funds was holding up for 9 years the much-needed upgrading of technology that the STPs around Dal Lake were using. It took Rs 9 crore to upgrade the technology used in three STPs along the Dal Lake.
The three STPs which were installed in 2008 were based on the old Fluidized Aerobic Bio-reactor (FAB) technology at Lam, Habak and Hazratbal.
Over the past few years, growing pollution in the lake and complaints from houseboat owners, boatmen and Dal dwellers finally led to a team of scientists from the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to evaluate the STPs situated around the lake. The team recommended upgrading of the FAB-based technology to improve efficiency.
As per an official at LAWDA, nitrates, phosphates and other nutrients were more than the permissible limits in the lake’s water due to sewage inflow. The Ph value was also higher than normal, which means the water is alkaline. None of the STPs was able to control this pollution, which was the main reason the technology had to change, the official said.
Bashir Ahmad, Vice Chairman of LAWDA, told Kashmir Reader that the department has successfully completed the work of replacing the old STP technology with a new one.

NAZIMA SIDIQ