Ludhiana: Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project begins with release of 200 cusecs of fresh water
The project to clean Ludhiana’s polluted ‘Buddha Nullah’ kick-started on Sunday, with 200 cusecs of freshwater being released into the polluted stream.
Samrala MLA, Amrik Singh Dhillon, Payal MLA, Lakhbir Singh Lakha, and Ludhiana Mayor, Balkar Singh Sandhu, on Sunday inaugurated the Rs 9.80 crore project of releasing at least 200 cusecs of freshwater into the stream daily.
Buddha Nullah is a seasonal water stream, which runs through the Malwa region of Punjab, and after passing through the highly populated Ludhiana district, it drains into the Sutlej River, a tributary of the Indus.
On Sunday, presiding over the inauguration of the project near Neelon village, the MLAs and Mayor said that Buddha Nullah was being cleaned as part of Punjab government’s Rs 650-crore project. Clean canal water will be released into the drain daily — through Neelon Drain of Sirhind Canal — so that the stream can regain its former glory.
They said that under the project, the executing agency — the state water resources department — using sheet piling technology, has constructed an escape regulator to carry 200 cusecs water from Sirhind Canal daily. The project has been funded by Municipal Corporation Ludhiana and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).
They said that Punjab government was committed to revive the original Buddha Dariya and restore its pristine glory and this is just the beginning of this gigantic task that aims to wipe out the toxic substances from the drain.
They said that the project has been initiated to check the free discharge of domestic waste into the Buddha Nullah through its entire 14-km stretch, cutting through municipal limits, and to ensure that only treated water flows into the stream.
They told that the work has already been commenced on two new Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) for treating domestic waters of total capacity 285 MLD (Jamalpur 225 MLD and Balloke 60 MLD), rehabilitation of existing STPs with a treatment capacity of 418 MLD, two effluent treatment plants (ETPs) for treatment of 6 MLD wastewater from two dairy complex in Tajpur and Haibowal, six intermediate pumping stations, laying of 10-km pipeline and 10 years of operation and maintenance of entire infrastructure under Rs 650-crore Budha Nullah rejuvenation project which will be completed by December 2022.