Noida Set To Lastly Cowl Its Drains | Noida Information

NOIDA: The Noida Authority has determined to cowl 10 drains throughout town below a pilot challenge, responding to years of complaints from residents residing of their neighborhood about pungent odor and poisonous gases emanating from them.

Officers stated one drain in every of town’s 10 work circles can be coated on this section. If the response is nice, the transfer can be replicated in different areas as properly. Town now has 75 major drains and 44 small ones.
Over the following few weeks, 4 drains shall be coated. Amongst them is the principle drain in Arun Vihar, which has permeated the lives of the households residing there and raised considerations about well being issues — a problem TOI had highlighted in an article in March. About Rs 40 crore can be spent on repairing and overlaying the 4 drains, which move via a number of populated areas of sectors 21, 27, 28, 29 and 37.
A 2014 directive of the Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal (NGT), nonetheless, bans the overlaying of drains totally. The NGT had identified that these drains wanted to be cleaned and de-silted frequently and overlaying them totally might have an effect on the train.
The authority, nonetheless, stated that they had reached a center path and would cowl the drains with iron grilles and concrete slabs with gaps between them in order that they may very well be eliminated for cleansing. Retailers would even be created in remoted locations if hazardous gases collected — a priority the NGT had raised in 2014.
On the beginning factors of every drain, a number of layers of mesh can be put in in order that stable waste doesn’t move via. In some locations, iron grilles can be used rather than concrete slabs, which might then be coated with fibre sheets. The authority has taken the assistance of IIT-Delhi on the best way to cowl the drains in a scientific method.
“We’re taking this step preserving in thoughts the repeated complaints of residents. They’ve been in search of an answer to stench within the areas from the open drains. We’re additionally contemplating the NGT norms. If this pilot challenge is profitable, it may be replicated in different areas,” stated Ritu Maheshwari, the Noida Authority CEO.
For lengthy, residents residing in societies across the drains had raised considerations about lung illnesses and different well being issues. Their social life was additionally thrown out of drugs as no relative would go to them. Promoting a flat close to a drain proved to be a tough job too.
Col IP Singh (retired), the chairperson of the Arun Vihar RWA, stated, “We have now been elevating the problem of an open drain in our space for a number of years now. The drains passing via sectors 28, 29 and 37 are additionally posing well being hazards for round 5,000 households residing of their neighborhood. NGT norms don’t permit overlaying of drains totally. However there are a number of methods to resolve the problem. Creating retailers and leaving gaps in between concrete slabs are a few of them, apart from common cleansing.”
Environmentalists, nonetheless, raised questions on Noida’s plans. “There are a number of options, however the authority is taking the straightforward manner out. Overlaying of drains will additional deteriorate the water high quality due to the anaerobic circumstances. There’s nothing like non permanent or everlasting cowl. Over time, it could change into a everlasting function in violation of the NGT order. That is nothing however a cover-up. Bio-remediation efforts may very well be performed to curb the odor, in all probability at a a lot decrease value,” stated Manu Bhatnagar, the principal director within the pure heritage division of INTACH.