LUDHIANA: In the coming days, civic officials are planning to cut short water supply timings by two hours daily, just to reduce the burden on sewage treatment plants (STPs). Though officials are tight-lipped over orders regarding this issue, unofficially they have asked tubewell operators to start reducing water supply in the coming days. The decision has come after chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh had a meeting with the mayor, commissioner, and officials of MC and PPCB (Punjab Pollution Control Board) over the pollution level in Buddha Nullah.In the meeting, officials were asked for reasons behind overloaded STPs and pollution levels in Buddha Nullah. The CM was told STPs were overloaded because water was being supplied in excess to treatment plants, due to which they were unable to treat it properly. Consequently, untreated water was being thrown inside the drain. However, earlier too, PPCB officials have asked MC officials several times to reduce water supply to residents to ensure the STPs function properly, but civic officials hardly bothered to comply with these orders.One of the civic officials claimed there were no written orders issued by MC authorities to cut short the supply timings, but unofficially, they had decided to do it by two hours. He said in the morning and evening hours, people would get water supply from 5.30am to 9am and 5.30pm to 9pm, and in the afternoon from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. He claimed they could not issue written orders regarding the cut, because it could invite trouble for them. He said as per norms, one person required 155 litres of water a day, but they were supplying 225-250 litres per person. “More than 30% of water supply goes down the drain,” he added.Mayor Balkar Sandhu confirmed they would reduce water supply for people just to reduce the burden on STPs. He said in the meeting the CM had asked him whether STPs could be upgraded by MC, but he had shown helplessness by saying the MC did not have funds for the same. He said he had clarified that like the state government, MC was also in a deep financial crisis.

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