Hyderabad: Tardy STP works leave residents fuming in Auto Nagar, other areas

Hyderabad: Residents of Auto Nagar and its surrounding areas in Telangana are irked over the slow pace of construction of a sewage treatment plant (STP) near the HarinaVanasthali National Park. The Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) began construction of the STP last November to address the issue of chemical effluents from the Auto Nagar industrial area polluting the park's groundwater and damaging its trees.

However, the project's progress has been slow, with only a few portions of chemical water cleared so far, according to Manoj Vidiyala, a resident of Mansoorabad and co-founder of Dha3RNGO. He also reports that respiratory problems are on the rise in the area, and that locals are suffering as a result of the slow construction.

Residents have requested that TSIIC not only set up an STP near the park with a capacity of 50 Kilo Litres Per Day (KLD), but also divert the pipeline to a canal and install an effluent treatment plant to purify the chemicals. Despite repeated representations to the Pollution Control Board and TSIIC, there has been no progress on these demands, according to Vidiyala.

Sunith, a resident of Auto Nagar, says that as the work progresses slowly, the park and the residents are suffering. The air, soil, and groundwater have become polluted, he added.

When asked about the slow pace of construction, a senior officer at TSIIC denied the allegations, stating that the project was progressing on a fast track and would be completed by next month. However, residents remain skeptical and frustrated by the slow pace of the project, which has left the park and their lives in a polluted state.