Residents join hands to lay sewage system in their localities

ALLAHABAD: As the authorities plan to make Allahabad a smart city replete with world class infrastructure and facilities, there are still some basic amenities which have been ignored. There are several areas in the city devoid of functional sewage system.
Tired of waiting of an action from the authorities, residents of several areas now have started making arrangements for laying the sanitary pipelines in their locality.
There are many areas of the city where Jal Nigam and Jal Sansthan have not made efforts of laying of the sewage pipe lines. These areas include Naya Purwa, Shamsnagar, Adarsh Nagar, Karelabagh, Ghausnagar, Kasari Masari, Sultanpur Bhawa, and pockets of Harwara, Jhalwa, Phaphamau among other areas.
In some of the localities, people have pooled in money for laying sewer lines. Resident of Shamsnagar, Shagufta Yasmeen, said, “We are aware about the attitude of Jal Sansthan staff as they seldom venture into this area.
As a result, residents of the area came together and pooled in our resources for laying sewage pipe lines which were also connected to every house in the area.”
She also pointed out the laxity of Allahabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) sanitary staff which rarely comes to clean the area. “We have hired private sanitary staff that regularly comes to clean our area,” she said.
Other resident of the area, Shadab Siddiqui, said, “Initially, we were shocked that area of Shamsnagar lacked sewage system. We made a point that we will come to this area when the sewage system will be laid. We spoke with our neighbours and pooled in our resources for laying of the sewage lines.
Residents of this pocket of Shamsnagar collected about Rs 75,000 and made a plan for the sanitary lines in their locality.
About 15 residents contributed about Rs 5000 each and collected Rs75,000 for the work.
They purchased sanitary pipes and hired workers for connecting the pipelines to the sewage line of Kareli.
Similar is the tale of other localities of the city where people have made their own arrangements for laying of the sewage pipelines. Several residents of the area of Rehmatnagar have also constructed sanitary pipelines and have connected their houses with these lines.
Resident of Rehmatnagar Yunus Ali said, “Initially, we were perturbed due to the absence of a sanitary line in this locality as it was a new area being developed. However, some of the active members of the locality came together and decided for laying of the sanitary line in the area.”
It is pertinent to mention that Jal Nigam has laid sanitary pipelines in various parts of the city under the JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) scheme but still there are certain areas devoid of any pipeline.
Talking to TOI, general manager of Jal Sansthan, VN Dwivedi, said, “We know that there are certain areas of the city where sanitary lines have not been laid but they are under the plan and would be covered in the coming days. However, our role starts when Jal Nigam lays sanitary pipeline in the area and hands over to us for maintenance.”
Moreover, there are some areas where people have installed septic tanks in their own houses due to lack of sanitary pipe lines.
Resident of Naya Purwa, Mohd Fazal, said, “Our locality does not have sanitary pipe lines and we have to face problems due to this. We have constructed a ‘pucca’ septic tank on the rear side of our houses where the waste matter is accumulated.”
Another resident of Naya Purwa, Rajendra Prasad Srivastava, said, “I have been living in this area for the past several years. We have to face numerous problems on account of lack of proper sewage system. We have now constructed septic tank in our houses but still have to face several problems during rainy season.”