Foundation laid for country's largest STP to clean Gomti in UP

Lucknow, Jul 25 (UNI) The Uttar Pradesh government today laid the foundation of the country's largest Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) under Gomti Action Plan in the state capital.

With an estimated cost of Rs 170 crore, work on the plant, with an installed capacity to clear 345 million litre per day, had already begun and is expected to be completed by July, 2009.

Laying the foundation stone, Chief Minister Mayawati said the previous UP governments had done nothing concrete to save the Gomti river from pollution and the situation was such that its water was even unfit for animal consumption.

''My government has taken the matter seriously and BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra has been entrusted to lead the team to make Gomti pollution free,'' she said.

The CM said with the public support, the 12 km river in the state capital was cleaned early this month, but more efforts need to be made to make Gomti, originating from Pilibhit to Ghazipur, pollution free.

She said after STP's completion, all the 26 big drains of Lucknow would be linked and about 26 lakh population would witness a pollution free Gomti.

Earlier, state advisory council chairman and Rajya Sabha MP Satish Chandra Mishra had said that 120 hectares of land had been acquired for the purpose.

''The STP will have a capacity to treat 345 million litre effluents a day and all the drains leading to the Gomti river will be linked to the proposed STP,'' he said .

Orders had been issued to install iron gates at all the drains to block polythenes and other wastes, he added.

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