CH-4,6 Amritsar

CHAPTER 4 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
SUMMARY
This chapter describes the physical extent and location of the urban water and
Waste water services in and around the city as they were at the time of the Study field trip in
March/April 2006
WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

Water Quality:
● Water abstracted via the MCA tube wells is of a good chemical quality and is fit for
human consumption.
● Hardness (measured as alkalinity) is the only parameter exceeding desirable limits, but
lies well below the Maximum Allowable Limit.
● In ground water composition of dissolved solids is found over a wide area of the very
extensive alluvial aquifer system
Water Quality:
● MCA comprises a total of 260 tube wells, pumping water directly to distribution mains on
an intermittent basis
● .Large wells are said to have a capacity between 20,000 and 25,000 gallons per hour
and small wells have a capacity between 8,000 and 10,000 gallons per hour
● The only form of treatment is disinfection by the addition of bleaching powder at a limited
number of the wells.
OHSRs:
● A total of 30 OHSRs have been constructed having a combined storage capacity of 24
million litres which is equivalent to approximately 3 hours storage at the current water
production rate
● reservoirs have an elevation of approximately 33m, are circular, and constructed of
reinforced concrete
● little water actually reaches any of the OHSRs due to the limited pressure in the rising
mains and direct offtakes to distribution
● 11 of the OHSRs are understood to be in working condition and the remaining 19 are not
operable due to leakage problems
Over Head water Reservoir
Distribution system:
80% of the total population of Amritsar has access to potable drinking water supply and that 51
of the 60 city wards are served
Private tube wells:

Due to the limited coverage and inadequacies of the MCA water supply system. Estimates
indicate that there are approximately 8,850 private household and commercial/ institutional tube
wells and in the order of 2,200 private industrial tube wells.
Hand pumps:
The poorer sections of the community have, through individual or cooperative action, installed
hand pumps either within their own properties or in common locations.
Handpumps are only in the order of 20m deep and unfortunately many have either dried up due
to the falling groundwater table or become contaminated due to their close proximity to the poor
quality sewerage systems.
India design norms make an allowance of 135 lpcd for domestic supply. Surveys and
calculations suggest that this level of demand has not been reached in Amritsar and that
present consumption is more likely to be in the region of 85 Ipcd. On this basis the total
domestic consumption for the 114,643 customers is 60 mld.
Water Balance:
It is estimated that non-revenue water is in the order of 63% of production. The estimate
that almost 80% of physical losses occur at service connections
Real losses refers to water that is permanently lost to the distribution system through either
breaks in the pipe network or overflows at service reservoirs
The key apparent losses are meter inaccuracies, which can be corrected through meter
maintenance or replacement, and unauthorized consumption
Based on MCA's estimate that there are currently 10,000 illegal connections, each serving an
average of 6.2 persons having a consumption of 85 Lpcd.
The chief public complaints are low pressure and poor quality
WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The sewerage system in the city is divided into three catchments:
● The North zone includes most of the city north of the main railway line and conveys
sewerage to a pumping station at Mahlan. This represents around 32% of the Waste
water collected in the city
● The South zone includes most of the city to the south of the railway line and conveys
sewerage to a pumping station at Fatehpur. It represents around 63% of the Waste
water collected in the city
● The remaining catchment at Chhehartta lies to the west of the city and conveys
sewerage to a pumping station at Gumanpura
➔ The un-sewered areas are primarily located around the outer fringes of the city. The
existing villages at the core are largely un-skewered, resulting in the accumulation of
foul sewage in pools in low-lying areas around the community.
➔ There is currently no sewage treatment operating on the domestic sewerage

system.There are however twenty pumping stations majority of which pump sewage
directly into an adjacent watercourse rest pump sewage on to another manhole further
down the system.Screenings removed from the flow are left in piles close to the pump
station.
➔ All industries are required to install treatment plant to treat their effluent before
discharge, whether to the sewer or to a watercourse
STORM WATER DRAINAGE

➢ the two main nallahs - the Ganda Nallah and the Tung Dhab discharge into one
large drain to the west of the city, known as the Hudiara Drain which itself flows
into the river Ravi over the international border in Pakistan
➢ Generally flow from east to west following the natural shallow gradient in the
topography.
➢ The level of pollution in the worst stretches of the nallahs indicates that high
levels of foul sewerage are being discharged direct.The situation is exacerbated
by the MCA activity of pumping from the sewerage network into the nallahs at
times of heavy hydraulic load on the system
Poorly maintain Ganda Nallah
SOLIDWASTE MANAGEMENT
The service is managed by the Medical Officer of Health,assissted by MSC (Mohalla Sudhar
Committee) which are set up and run by local people only.
The major sources of generation of waste are: • Local residents, • Commercial areas and
vegetable markets, • Households, • Industries • Hotels and restaurants,• Hospital and
dispensaries, • Domestic and stray animals, • Floating population (tourists and travellers,
migrant workers, traders, hawkers from nearby areas) etc
An unattended litterbin
the total estimated solid waste generation works out to about 447 MT/day
● Segregation of Waste at Source:Most households and commercial establishments do

not seriously practice segregation of waste at source, but rely on itinerant scavengers to
achieve the same effect
● Primary Collection of Waste:Overall, more than 75% of solid waste reaches
community bins through sanitary workers (Safai-sevaks) engaged by Mohalla Sudhar
Committees through house to house waste collection
● Temporary Storage of Waste: MCA have placed about 125 metallic dustbins of 4.5 cu.
m size and 10 bins of 10.0 cu. m. size for the temporary storage of waste In many areas
due to access considerations, the open sites are sometimes used as dumping sites
● Transportation of Waste:For Transportation of waste from the city, MCA uses 56
tractor-trailers, 7 mini trucks (about 4-5 ton capacity) and 3 large size (about 10 ton
capacity) trucks
● Treatment and/or Disposal of Waste: MCA does not carry out any pre-treatment of the
waste except direct dumping of waste at the disposal site. The MCA has identified
Medicare Incinerators Private Limited, Ludhiana and Health Care Systems, Jhabal
Road, Amritsar as the agencies for hospital waste management.
Garbage disposal trucks with modern facility
HEALTH INDICATORS
WATER PROBLEM
About 32% are faced with water quality problems, 9% are faced with water quantity
problem and 11% are faced with pressure (within the pipe) problems
STATISTICS
● access to the piped drinking water system is available to 80% of the population.
● 70% of the population enjoy access to an underground sewerage system, all of which is
discharged directly to nallahs (surface water drains) in and around the city.
● These untreated discharges have a severe, and detrimental, impact on the water quality
in the watercourses
CHAPTER 6
URBAN POOR
Unlike the rest of India, the incidence of poverty in the Punjab is historically higher in the urban
areas than in the rural areas.
since the early nineties almost two-thirds of the poor in the state are urban dwellers
URBAN POOR HOUISNG

Slums in Amritsar are localities that are unplanned, rural habitations within the city limit, with
limited municipal facilities such as sewerage or water supply and not always synonymous with
poverty
According to Punjab Slum Area (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1961 an area can be
declared as slum if report of officer from Component Authority which satisfied in respect of an
area that the buildings in the area are in any respect unfit for human habitation
In determining that a building should had to its conditions in respect of the following matters.
a) repairs, b) stability, c) freedom from damp; d) natural light and air, e) water supply, f)
drainage and sanitary conveniences, g) facilities for storage, preparation and cooking of food
and for the disposal of waste water
the building shall be deemed to be unfit as aforesaid if and only if it is so far defective in one or
more of the said matters that it is reasonably not suitable for occupation in the conditions".
(Punjab Govt., 1961: 2-3).
Poor housing condition with narrow streets and open drains

As Amritsar municipal boundary expanded, several villages (mouza or village estates) along
with their core settlements and agricultural land became included into municipal limits. By virtue
of the layout, density, narrowness of streets, poor drainage and sanitation conditions, these core
settlements have also been declared slums.
➔ It is estimated that the average age in the slums is about 16 years

➔ Total population of slums is about 360,000, which is about 36% of the population of the
city.
➔ Based on the details of 28 slums (for which population and area details were available),
the average slum area is about 6.45 hectares. Based on this, the slums have a
population density of about 876 persons /ha.
➔ More than 50% of households live in below 18 m2 of plots
BASIC SERVICES: ACCESS AND NEEDS

Water supply has been provided to 61% of the slum areas, and sewerage to 52% of the
areas.
65% of the slum areas are provided with open drains, 68% with brick paving and 24%
have street lighting.
The principal need of the poor is sewerage and drainage.

Uncontrolled sewage continues to contaminate the shallow aquifer hence their problems are
likely to expand to water supply sector (quality issues)
There is a need for appropriate institutional mechanism with community involvement to ensure
proper maintenance of sewers, solid waste and street sanitation
Unhigenic condition at slums
ISSUES OF URBAN POOR

MCA’s annual budget (2005-6) reserved for slums is Rs 650 lakhs which is 9.75% of the
development budget and 1.6% of the overall budget
major issues related to growing number of slums and the urban poor are the following:
• Increasing trend of slum population in the city
• Encroachment over valuable parcel of land present in the core of the city
• Inadequate infrastructure facilities in the slum pockets with poor sanitary condition leading to
unhygienic environment
• Improper accessibility with narrow unpaved streets
• No proper street light arrangements
• Lack of awareness among the slum dwellers about different poverty alleviation programme
under Central and State Government

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CHAPTER 4 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

Private tube wells:

WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

➔ There is currently no sewage treatment operating on the domestic sewerage

STORM WATER DRAINAGE

Poorly maintain Ganda Nallah

● Segregation of Waste at Source:Most households and commercial establishments do

Garbage disposal trucks with modern facility

URBAN POOR HOUISNG

Poor housing condition with narrow streets and open drains

➔ It is estimated that the average age in the slums is about 16 years

BASIC SERVICES: ACCESS AND NEEDS

The principal need of the poor is sewerage and drainage.

ISSUES OF URBAN POOR

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