Bhubaneswar, Sep 16 (FN Bureau) Over 500 faucal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs) all over India are generating an estimated 250 tones of bio-solids every day, Director, Water Programme, CSE Depinder Singh Kapur said. Another 104,210 tones of bio-solids are generated from the 1,469 STPs that exist in India, Singh Kapur said at a Regional Workshop on reuse of biosolids harvested from sepatage & sewage. The workshop was jointly organized by Housing & Urban Development department Odisha and Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi here on Friday The Workshop focused on reuse and resource recovery of harvested bio-solids from FSTPs and STPs as these bio-solids can be a rich source of fertilizers in agriculture in India.
Principal Secretary, H&UD, Odisha G Mathi Vathanan, in his keynote address presented an overview of different Urban Sanitation and water initiatives, missions and programs in Odisha, and the emerging challenges of re-use of harvested bio solids. Odisha , he said, is known for its pioneering Faecal Sludge & Septage Management (FSSM), especially decentralised community-led inclusive sanitation in the country. The State has built 118 faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs)/ sewage treatment plants (STPs) across 115 ULBs, he said adding that the State-wide roll-out of convergence of rural & urban sanitation is currently underway. He further highlighted the role of Odisha Urban Academy in strengthening the capacity building ecosystems in water, sanitation and inclusive urban development space. The delegates represented a cross-section of senior Govt officers, academicians, scientists, municipal officers, consultants deliberated on how to address the issue of safe handling and reuse of harvested bio-solids from FSTPs/STPs in Odisha.