Sewage crisis deepens as inadequate infra hampers STPs; Gomti gasps

City lets 280 MLD of raw sewage flow directly into drains and water bodies, eventually finding its way to the Gomti

- Anupam Srivastava

LUCKNOW: Owing to inadequate infrastructure, multiple operational sewage treatment plants (STPs) are able to treat barely a little more than half the wastewater generated each day in Lucknow, letting untreated sewage flow into the Gomti River, once the lifeline of the city.

In its edition dated May 4, HT had published the report "Perennial river to 'slow-moving drain', Gomti water quality raises alarm in Lko". The report had highlighted that the Gomti was stinking due to untreated sewage, industrial and human waste that made its water unfit for even aquatic life in Lucknow.

The Bharwara STP, the city's largest and boasting a treatment capacity of 345 MLD (million litres per day), is at the centre of the issue.

Lucknow generates around 730 MLD of sewage daily, according to Jal Nigam chief engineer Shameem Akhtar.

When accounting for other key STPs—Daulatganj I (56 MLD), Daulatganj II (14 MLD), Vrindavan Colony (37.5 MLD), Vrindavan Yojana (6.5 MLD), and a partially functional 120 MLD plant on Haider Canal—the city still treats only around 450 MLD. That leaves nearly 280 MLD of raw sewage flowing directly into drains and water bodies, eventually finding its way to the Gomti.