sewage treatment

They are a part of Shimla’s invisible corona warriors, the 260-odd sanitation workers who maintain the hill town’s 280-km sewerage network. “For the world, corona may be a novel virus, but we are exposed to infections and other health hazards every day,” says Attar Singh, a sewage worker, “though we do take due precautions to stay safe.” This, as they try and keep Shimla’s 2.3 lakh citizens safe from infections that lack of proper sewerage infrastructure and treatment can cause, including COVID (as recent news reports suggest). Thankfully, Shimla town has not had a single positive case so far. Attar…

For the first time ever, the largest of the flamingo species, the Greater flamingos, one of the most widely recognized waders in the world, were spotted in the newly developed Sabarmati river front in Ahmedabad, much to the delight of citizens, especially the birders’ community. “I was delighted when I spotted a huge flock of about 50 flamingos when I went for a walk on the riverfront,” said hobbyist wildlife photographer Vicky Chauhan, a chartered accountant residing just 200 metres from the riverfront. “While we have seen flamingos in areas near Ahmedabad in the Fatewadi area, this was the first…

Multi-storied apartments are everywhere, dotting the skyline in our cities. Ground plus 19 is the norm rather than the exception. As apartment dwellers everywhere are finding out this summer, water is a major challenge to manage, with the city running scarce to supply this resource. If you are a new buyer, it would be wise to ask the following questions from the builder before you make that investment of a crore or more. This is a simple checklist: What are the sources of water for the flat especially in summer? Bore wells are simply unable to supply water when densities…

Buddha Nulla, or Buddha Dariya as it was once known, is a symbol of all that is wrong with Ludhiana, Punjab’s largest city. Old timers in Ludhiana remember a cool seasonal stream, a tributary of river Sutlej, that flowed through the city and rejoined the river 16 kms downstream. "It was I think in 1977 or 78, I was in class seven,” recalls Arun Chatwal, born and brought up in Ludhiana. “Both banks of the Buddha Dariya used to be a place for social gatherings. My father used to take all of us as kids there, and some of the…

Once upon a time, Kudi Kunta lake, one of the oldest lakes in Serilingampally mandal, hidden among the bylanes of Masjid Banda, Kondapur in Hyderabad, was a drinking water source for thousands of residents living around it. But as has happened in many cities, this fresh water source has largely disappeared due to decades of neglect and waste dumping. Spread across 8.04 acres (as per the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) survey of 2014, the freshwater lake (Lake ID 3742) used to be an aquatic habitat and occasional home to migratory birds. Not any more. Dumping of toxic wastes, garbage…

It is called ‘Srinagar’s jewel’ or ‘jewel in the crown of Kashmir’ -- the Dal Lake, immortalised by literature as much as by countless popular movies and tourist chronicles. Sadly, today it has become a victim of political, social and economic neglect. Over the last thirty years, the lake has been deteriorating at a rapid rate. According to a reply submitted by the state government to the J&K High Court on September 18,  Rs 759 crores of rupees have been spent on the lake since the year 2002, but the plight of the lake continues to become poorer by the…