By: Lalmohan PatnaikCUTTACK: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded integrated sanitation project in Cuttack is moving at a very slow pace with construction of 25-km sewer lines in the past one year.The Odisha Water Supply & Sewerage Board (OWSSB) is implementing the Rs 810.83 crore mega project to build for the first time in the city a comprehensive sewerage system for collection and disposal of waste water.Chief minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone of the project in October 2012 with July 2016 as deadline for completion. There are doubts whether the project will be completed by the rescheduled 2019 deadline, reset last year.After completion of land acquisition process, progress of work had gathered pace and work on 252-km sewer lines had been done by January 2018.OWSSB chief engineer and JICA project in-charge Basanta Kumar Parida said construction of around 72% of the sewer lines has been done so far.The massive sewerage and drainage project envisages a sewage system with an underground gravity sewer line length of 385 km, 36 pumping stations, three sewage treatment plants (STPs) and rejuvenation or reconstruction of 23 km of the existing two main storm water drains."Work on 277 km of sewer lines and construction of seven of the 36 pumping stations have been completed. One of the three sewage treatment plants has started functioning and the project is expected to be completed in targeted time - December 2019," Parida told TOI.As part of the sewage collection and disposal system, waste water will be transported through the underground sewer lines in different parts of the city to the three sewage treatment plants and treated to control water pollution before discharge into the Mahanadi and the Kathajodi rivers.Around 100 million litres of waste water can be treated daily at the sewage treatment plants before release into the rivers.The first STP at Satichaura was inaugurated on December 5 last year. With 36 million litres per day (mld) capacity, the STP started with sewage connections in Markatnagar and Bidanasi."Another new 10 mld STP at Matagajpur, along with an existing 33 mld STP, which is lying defunct, has been targeted to be commissioned by June," said Parida.As part of the project, 23 km of two open main storm water channels and connecting drains are to be refurbished with concrete flooring, heightened sidewall and cover. But work on 12 km has been completed so far."When completed, the Millennium City will not only get separate drainage and sewage system for the first time but also lead to improved sanitary condition and an improvement in water quality in the surrounding rivers," said the JICA project-in-charge.

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