Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for four sewerage projects costing Rs. 738.04 crore and four National Highways projects of 195 km. worth Rs. 3031 crore in Bihar tomorrow. The ceremony will take place at Mokama. Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping will also accompany Prime Minister for the foundation stone laying ceremony.

These four sewerage projects include Sewage Treatment Plant at Beur, Sewerage System with Sewer Network at Beur, Sewage Treatment Plant at Karmalichak and STP and Sewer Network at Saidpur. These projects together will create new STP capacity of 120 MLD and upgrade the existing 20 MLD for Beur. This also includes sewer network of 234.84 km in Beur and Saidpur zones.

In Patna, seven other sewerage projects are at various stages of implementation, out of which two – Digha and Kankarbagh sewerage zones – worth Rs. 1402.89 crore are sanctioned under Hybrid Annuity-based PPP mode. The existing population in the city is 16,83,000 and the existing sewage generated in the city is 220 MLD and sewage load is expected to be 320 MLD by the year 2035. Compared to the existing sewage generation, the existing sewage treatment capacity is only 109 MLD. Also the existing STPs are outlived and are treating at a much lower capacity. The city also has 11 main drains which are discharging directly to river Ganga.

The areas like Digha and Kankarbagh has no treatment facility. Thus the present treatment capacity and sewer system need immediate reorganization and extension to uncovered areas, besides proper operation and maintenance. Considering the existing treatment capacity of the city and existing waste generation and future waste generation till 2035, a total of 11 projects under World Bank funding are sanctioned for six zones which will create a total of 350 MLD of STP capacity and will lay down 1140.26 km of sewerage network at a cost of Rs. 3582.41crore.

After completion of these 11 projects, Patna will become a town having 100% sewerage infrastructure and no sewage water will drain into River Ganga.

Six projects regarding River Front Development/Ghat and Crematoria (including Patna RFD) are under implementation at a cost of Rs 377.58 crore. One River Surface Cleaning project worth Rs 3.96 crore and two Afforestation projects worth Rs 24.92 crore are also under implementation. Under the River Surface Cleaning project, a trash skimmer has been deployed in Patna. A total of 29 projects worth Rs.4929.17 crore are under various stages of implementation in Bihar under Namami Gange Programme. No effort is being spared by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to clean River Ganga of pollution.

The four National Highways projects for which foundation stone will be laid include 4-laning of Aunta –Simariya section of NH-31 and construction of 6-lane Ganga Setu at the cost of Rs. 1161 crore, 4 laning of Bakhtiyapur-Mokama section of NH-31 at the cost of Rs. 837 crore, 2-lane construction of Maheshkhunt- Saharsa-Purnea section of NH 107 at the cost of Rs. 736 crore, and 2-lane construction of Biharsharif – Barbigha- Mokama section of NH-82 at the cost of Rs. 297 crore.

NP/Samir/SKP/jk

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