Part of a sewer line in Saheed Nagar started caving two weeks ago due to lack of proper sand filling. (Above) Sewerage work in progress near Tankapani Road in Bhubaneswar (file pictures)

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 23: The sewer pipeline laying project in the city is getting inordinately delayed. Till date, out of the six proposed sewerage treatment plants (STPs), land is available only for two.

While authorities admit that meeting the extended 2014 deadline is a challenge for the Orissa Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB), other factors also appear to be adding to their woes.

Though the project concept was adopted in 2006, the work for sewer pipeline started in 2008. The Rs 754-crore project was to span over 145sqkm covering six sewerage districts. The project was expected to be completed by March 2012 but it was later extended to 2014. With the land requirement for the STPs going slow, the 2014 deadline might be extended further.

“Revenue officials have assured that land provision will be made by November this year, so there is a chance to complete the project by December 2014 or early 2015,’’ said a senior OWSSB engineer.

Sources at OWSSB clarified there should not be any apprehension that the project would not be able to take the population load as the 2041 projection has been taken into consideration.

Also, all the six sewerage districts in the city, along with their STPs, will work independently. This means, if a district is ready with its pipeline and STP, then it can be commissioned independently.

The 2011 population was projected as 10.7 lakh by OWSSB, but in reality after the 2011 Census it was found that the city population is below 10 lakh. So the calculation of 120 litres per capita per day of sewerage output will be efficiently managed by the project.

A household has to pay Rs 45 a month and that will take care of the operating cost of the entire project.

However, the inordinate delay in laying the pipeline in many parts of the city has become the talk of the town with locals and other stakeholders like the civic body complaining about the condition of the main and internal roads across the city as the filling of the excavation stretches with sand is not been strictly followed. The recent spell of incessant rain has exposed the quality of work. A major portion of a sewer line laying work in Saheed Nagar started caving in a week ago. This has put nearby residents in great trouble.

At some places, the cave-in is as wide as three feet and this has exposed children and elderly persons to grave risk.

“After laying the new sewer line in the middle of the road, the surface has become undulated and four-wheeler owners are having a tough time in managing their vehicles. We hope that the OWSSB authorities will finish the work near our colony once the rainy season is over,’’ observed Prof. Ashok Sahu.

Speaking about the cave-in of a road in Saheed Nagar, senior project engineer B.K. Parida clarified that now it had become mandatory for the contractors to fill the dug-up sites with sand so that the space would never shrink. “We insist that the contractors should follow the instructions strictly and if there is any deviation then they will have to fill it again,’’ he added.

Last month, the people of Old Town area launched an agitation in protesting the delay in laying sewer pipelines. The agitation was organised by Ekamra Vikash Manch as they alleged that tourist footfall in the Old Town area had suffered largely due to the delay in the sewerage work. However, OWSSB officials clarified that too much of interference by locals and several religious rituals also delayed sewer line laying work.

Reacting to the allegation of delay in laying sewer lines, a senior OWSSB official said it was done in an unplanned area that had narrow roads and lanes.

The sewerage board team is also not getting help from local residents in many areas.

“In places such as Palaspalli, Satyanagar, Shanti Pallli near Maharshi College, Bhimpur, Shastri Nagar, Badagada Brit Colony the team is facing problem either because of non-cooperation or narrow roads. In Nayapalli, Sashtrinagar and Chintamaniswar sewer work was not being allowed on several stretches as people claimed that the land on which the road ran belonged to them.

“At many places in Jharpada, Badagada and Nayapalli excavators are finding it difficult to cut through layers of hard rock strata. In Ratnakarbagh, Pandav Nagar, GGP Colony, Malay Vihar, Chintamaniswar and near Kedargouri Temple workers have barely dug up a foot when water began to rush out like streams.

“Work cannot be undertaken in these areas till the monsoon is over,’’ said a senior project engineer.