MUSINGS FROM BANGLADESH

61. MUSINGS FROM BANGLADESH

Between October 10–17, 2015, I was in Bangladesh.  The longest sojourn so far in my 3 years of association with the PRAN-RFL group, one of the largest and highly respected business houses in Bangladesh.  The trip was to review performance of nearly 6 ETP’s already installed by us for our Associate and to inspect ongoing construction and commissioning of 3 more ETP’s at different factories and locations across the country.  And to visit the site of a proposed ETP for a new milk collection and chilling centre, and which in a few years will be converted to a full fledged Dairy.

A trip which took me from Dhaka to Natore – Shazadpur ( Rabindranath Tagore is revered here)  – Dhaka – Habigonj – Palash – Ghorasal – Kaligonj - Dhaka

A hectic schedule which culminated on a Friday afternoon with a presentation to over 30 officers of the PRAN –RFL group directly/ indirectly connected with the ETP’s, gathered together from the various factories and the Head office.  This final meeting was at  the Mymensingh Agro Ltd. Conference room in the RFL Industrial Park ( RIP) at Kaligonj right on the bank of the Shitolakkha river.

Here are some snippets of information, musings if you like about the wonderful city of Dhaka and our neighbor – Bangladesh. These were earlier posted serially on facebook during my stay in Bangladesh

SWEET LASSI

Had by far the best, most delicious sweet lassi at The Aristocrat Restaurant on National Highway N4 to Natore, near the iconic 4.8 Km long Bangabandhu Sethu bridge. Pure Mishti Dhoi whipped up with extra cream, a hint of Bashundhi, served in a tall glass, cold and thick. Very thick. So thick you could float a dollar coin on it ( to borrow a phrase from Louis L'amour).

SCRAPED, DENTED AND BASHED UP

Yet to see a Rickshaw, car, bus or truck that has not been scratched, scraped, dented, bashed up or otherwise seriously abused. Police and army vehicles are the only exceptions. Not surprised.

TRUCKS AND BUSES

An overwhelming majority of trucks in BD are Tata, Eicher, Ashok Leyland in that order. All the buses are Hino from Japan. What makes trucks from India competitive but not the buses ?

Got the answer from  Vivek Annaswamy, My uncle who retired from Tata Motors as Chief Executive from  after decades of service in that company at various locations and in various functions :    “  Comfort level. Here ( In India)  we make Buses from Truck chassis. Order of the day are Low floor Monocoque buses “

CHEESE AND PEPPERONI PIZZA

Lunch at Pizza hut in Dhaka today. Pepperoni and cheese : All beef, no Pork. And in India the same Pizza comes with pork - No beef. Would love to let loose our worthy politicians on this one.

GREASED LIGHTNING ?

If you finish your commute in Dhaka at an average speed of 5 Kmph, you have zipped thru the city. Compare this with the greased lightning speed in Bangalore of 8 Kmph !

DEMOGRAPHY

 Some interesting statistics from BD  :

:

- 87 % of the Nationals are Muslim- 12 % of the Nationals are Hindu- 1 % of the Nationals are Buddhist- 0.5 % of the Nationals are Christian- 100 % of Bus drivers are Insane

To which my good friend Devinder Singh from Frankfurt observed : 87+12+1+0.5 = 100.5% !!!

And my Riposte : 

May be this is the reason they say BD is overpopulated ? 

SUNSET ON NATIONAL HIGHWAY N2

We left Habigonj in the far North East of Bangladesh late in the evening at 5.30 PM.  The sun sets early in these parts. With the Sun calling it a day, emerald green paddy fields on either side of the Highway fade to grey in the distance as a thin gossamer mist hangs over them gleefully proclaiming that every sun has to set.

SPEEDBOATING ON THE SHITALOKKHA RIVER

New experience today.  Factory hopping from Pran Industrial Park (PIP) to Pran - AMCL factory to RFL Industrial Park (RIP) by speedboat on the Shitalokkha River. All on account of a blocked road connecting the factories. Mercifully no traffic jams on the river.  And to beat the afternoon heat, travelled standing to catch the onrush of heady river air.

EVERYONE ON EMERGENCY DUTY

Half the trucks and minivans plying on arterial roads, streets, lanes and bylanes of Dhaka carry a placard “ On Emergency Export Duty “.  There are ululating ambulances and police vehicles. A myriad cycle rickshaws darting, dodging, weaving and squeezing their way from lane to lane.  Pedestrians crossing wide boulevards chock a block with traffic seeking safe passage with upraised palms.  And the private vehicles which although do not carry any placards, are for all intents and purposes “On Emergency Personal duty”.  Here Nobody gives way to anyone or anything.  Refreshing to see no VVIP culture here.  Would love to plonk our own Chandrababu Naidu and Chandrasekhar Rao in Dhaka traffic.

A BEEHIVE OF ACTIVITY

Every time I visit the factories of the PRAN – RFL group, may be after every 6 months or so, It never fails to amaze me the changes I see in these units.  Old gives way to new, new constructions everywhere, technology upgradation, modernization of machinery, new products, backward and forward integration and constant expansion. Never seen anything coming close to this kind of frenetic activity even in designated industrial Areas in India : Just the scale of it is mind boggling.

WELL DONE PRAN – RFL

From the time they paid a hefty fine to the Bangladesh Department of Environment in early 2002 for polluting the Shitolakkha river, PRAN group has made tremendous strides in its environmental control activities.  All the factories along the river now have scientifically designed ETP’s running well, as in their other factories in Bangladesh.  There is a high level of awareness which is now widespread in the group and its officers about their environmental responsibility, and a good working knowledge of the treatment processes in ETP’s.  A remarkable achievement in such a short period of time.  It took almost a couple of decades I reckon for a similar transformation to happen in India.

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                                                        October 18, 2015

AN STP DESIGN WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM GOOGLE

60. AN STP DESIGN WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM GOOGLE

Regular followers and readers of my blogs would have no doubt read the piece about an STP titled  “Designing by the Book”.  In keeping with advancement of technology, here is an STP proposed to be designed with a little help from Google.

Many well wishers have often asked me why I do not respond to RFQ’s ( Request for Quotation) for STP’s floated by Architects and their Plumbing Consultants. I present to you below a recent RFQ I came across for a High end apartment complex of a Grade I Builder sent out by a leading Architect and his Plumbing consultant.  The specifications for the STP in the RFQ will accept  anything from a SIPANI BADAL three wheeled car to a PORSCHE 911 and everything in between if I were to borrow the equivalent from the automobile world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipani

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911

Under the circumstances, dear reader you will agree that the odds of a snowflake in hell are infinitely higher than Ecotech ( our Company) landing a contract through this tender route.

The following is a true, entirely authentic and unedited extract from an RFQ we were regaled with from a respected Architectural firm in Bangalore.  The only camouflaging I have done is to the names of the actors in this farce and some figures to protect their identity and their good name ( although I am not entirely sure why).  The camouflaged bits are in red font by me..

“XXXXXXX APARTMENTS”

BY

M/S YYYYYY DEVELOPERS

at BANGALORE

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION ON DESIGN BUILD BASIS FOR

230KLD SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT

Date  : Does it really matter for this kind of trash ?

Client: M/s. YYYYYYYY ( same as above)

Architects:  ZZZZZZZZ ( In sleep mode)

PHE Consultants: 000000000.... ( Not enough zeroes in this world for ranking)

Introduction:

The proposed project is a residential Apartment located  Anywhere in Bangalore comprising of 999 Flats with common amenities like clubhouse, Gym & swimming pool etc.

The total water requirement is as mentioned in the below table.

Description	Values	Units
No. of Flats	999	Nos.
No. of persons per  villa	5	Nos.
Water Usage per person per day	200	LPCD
Water used for domestic uses	2,21,000	LPD
Design factor for additional reserve capacity	5%
Additional reserve capacity	11,050	LPD
Total Flow in ltrs/Day	2,32,050	LPD
Total Design Capacity of Plant	230	KLD

                                                         

The project is a gated community which has no access to sewer system hence requires establishing a STP onsite. Further it is also envisaged to use the reclaimed water for landscaping by spray or drip kind of irrigation system and if need be for flushing in future.

Plant design parameters:

Influent to the STP shall be domestic sewage generated in the Flats and common amenity areas, an approximate characteristics of the likely expected sewage is given below. The influent sewage parameters may vary time and season, the plant shall be capable of accommodating organic loading to the tune of 30% and a hydraulic shock load of 30 to 40% with minor operational adjustments.

Parameters	Inlet (Expected)	Outlet (Required)
		Reuse	Landscaping
BOD, ppm	250	<10	<20
COD, ppm	500	<100	<200
TSS, ppm	500	<10	<20
Oil & Grease, ppm	>10	<3	<5
pH	6.5 - 8.5	6.0 - 9.0	6.0-9.0
E-Coli	NA	NIL	NIL
Residual chlorine, PPM	-	<1 mg/lt	1 mg/lt

The expected outlet water requirements shall be met by the plant while operating in the range up to the designed capacity. The output performance shall not vary by more than 20% under shock loads.

The output is to be treated as 50% for reuse and 50% for landscaping quality water generation.

Sewage treatment processes:

The vendor may select any process as per their area of expertise / proprietary design. The vendor shall submit a detailed process description and flow sheet considering the site conditions.

The vendor may also choose from the list of available methods for treatment or propose any other alternative.

Biological:  Aerobic

• Extended aeration
• SBR (Sequential Batch Reactor)
• FAB (Fluidized Aerobic bed)
• SAFF (Suspended Aeration Fixed Film)
• FBBR (Fluidized bed Bio Reactor)
• RBC (Rotating Biological Contactor)
• MBR (Membrane Bio Reactor)

Biological Anaerobic systems

• UASB
• Septic tank

Physical / Chemical:

• Enzyme activated treatment

Electrical:

• Electrolysis

The sludge generated in the STP shall be suitably treated to ensue that it can be properly disposed along with municipal solid waste. Sludge drying beds are not permitted. Sludge volume reduction by aerobic / anaerobic digestion in small plants are not viable hence the same may be considered for plants above 250 kld.

The vendor shall also furnish detailed design calculations along with the offer which shall be scrutinized by the PHE consultants. In the event of the vendor not willing to share the design calculations they shall guarantee the performance of the system by a Bank Guarantee of a value as per the client discretion and shall be decided based on the vendors reputation and the performance of the existing plants.

NOW SOME PERTINENT OBSERVATIONS AND QUESTIONS FROM ASK ( that is me : of      “ When Kodavasal talks, people listen” fame)

( Pls. note I have overlooked and condoned some minor lapses in this document which may have crept in due to a mindless cut and paste job done by the Consultant : Ex : “No. of persons per villa”.  Is this not an apartment ?)

1. Since when has Karnataka State Pollution Control Board ( KSPCB)  relaxed its Rules and left toilet use option of treated water to the discretion of the plumbing consultant ?

2. What can be the seasonal variation in the characteristics of domestic sewage from an apartment complex ?  Due to variations in Temperature ? The monsoons ? Seasonal changes in dietary pattern of the residents ?

3. Why must the STP accommodate and handle only 30 % of the organic load ? Why not 100 % ?  And where does one offload the balance 70 % ?

4. 30 – 40 % of excess Shock loads are better handled by proper Design and Engineering  of the STP rather than by twiddling with some unspecified and abstruse  “minor operational adjustments”

5. Obviously the Consultant is not wise to the KSPCB “ Urban Reuse Standards” for quality of treated water enforced now for more than 6 years, and has prescribed his own set of standards.

6. I fail to understand the grammar of the consultant’s 50 % for Reuse and 50 % for landscaping jargon.  In Technical papers and documents one expects exactitude and precision and not vague descriptions.

7. About the wide choice of STP technologies left to the bidder, less said the better.  One wonders however at these possibilities and has these nagging questions :

  -  Had there been a more powerful search engine, say Google +++,  would the list have been longer ?

- Does the Consultant possess adequate knowledge, competence, skill and expertise to assess the pros and cons of the various technologies that may be proposed by sundry bidders.  And if the answer is YES,  why has he not done this exercise and homework himself and Zeroed in on the one most Optimal and Practicable technology option for an STP of this size in this setting ?

- Under the Biological aerobic options, what is the difference between an FAB and FBBR ?  Am I missing some key but obscure differences in Design and engineering between the two competing technologies ?

- A septic tank option for a 230 KLD STP ?????

… and so on.  Professional  etiquette and decency prevents me from completely disrobing the consultant.

UPSHOT OF THE STORY

My Company steadfastly refuses to participate in such open tenders for precisely the above reasons.  What chance does a good STP with proper scientific design and engineering features have against these odds and at the hands of an incompetent consultant ?

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                                                        October 04, 2015

Director – Ecotech Engg. Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

Bangalore 560 066

Mob : 98450-62033

WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND UTILISATION

59. WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND UTILISATION

    A CASE STUDY IN BANGALORE

The Hindu, the grand old Newspaper of India in its Sunday edition of October 04, 2015 reports of plans afoot  in the Government of Karnataka to formulate a policy on Wastewater treatment and utilization.  An initiative no doubt, but why a new policy I ask, when there is a comprehensive Environment Protection Act enacted by the Parliament of India, with requisite statutory and legal powers which only needs to be more strictly enforced to achieve these very objectives.

On June 19, 2015, The Karnataka Knowledge Commission  and the Karnataka urban infrastructure Development and Finance Commission ( KUIDFC) jointly organized a Workshop on Strategies for Wastewater Management to elicit views on the subject from various interested stakeholders.  I made a presentation at this workshop focusing on the status of the more than 2000 decentralised Sewage Treatment Plants ( STP’s) in the city of Bangalore, and the urgent imperative to get these defunct plants operational.  This would result not only in conservation of fresh water resources, but also make several of these communities with good STP’s self sufficient upto 60 % of their daily water needs.  And Oh! Of course, this will also incidentally reduce pollution in the environment, and less frothing and foaming in the lakes of Bangalore.

Pardon me for that last bit of sarcasm.  In my 30 years of being in the wastewater business in Bangalore,  I have found that the arithmetic of economic benefits and monetary gains far outweigh considerations of environmental responsibility even in the highly educated and enlightened strata of society.

AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF MY PRESENTATON IN THE WORKSHOP :

( Simple enough and eminently practicable as opposed to grandiose plans of the BWSSB to set up mega STP’s, which will most likely go the way of their predecessors)

     A.  GENERAL

• 3 Cardinal Rules for a good Wastewater Treatment Plant ( WWTP)

- Proper Design

- Proper Engineering

- Proper Operation & Maintenance

      B. STATUS OF STP’S IN BANGALORE

• Over 2000 Decentralised Private Sewage Treatment Plants ( STP) in Bangalore
• Over 300 MLD of sewage treated in these STP’s
• Over 80 % of Plants are defunct due to :
• Wrong Technology, Incorrect Design, Poor Engineering

     C. WHY THINGS GO WRONG WITH STP’ S IN BANGALORE ?

         ( AND MANY OTHER CITIES IN INDIA AS WELL )

• The Problem starts when Architects and Plumbing consultants with little or no experience start designing WWTP
• Problem gets compounded when the Technical Advisory Committee ( TAC) of the KSPCB which  lacks adequate competence to critically examine these proposals,  simply approves all and sundry Technology and Designs of WWTP

      D. BENEFITS  FROM REFURBISHING STP’S IN BANGALORE

• Over Rs. 1000 Crore of assets are lying idle in these defunct STP’s
• Only about Rs. 200-250 Crore will be required to refurbish these STP’s
• This refurbishment will result in enormous savings in Fresh water usage in Bangalore, estimated to be around150-180 MLD
• Apartment communities can become upto 60 % self sufficient in there requirement for water
• The balance 40 % of good quality STP treated water may be used to rejuvenate lakes in Bangalore
• Great beneficial impact on saving and preserving the environment

      E. WHAT SHOULD BE THE ROLE OF THE KSPCB ?

• I Recommend that the KSPCB refrain from scrutinizing and approving WWTP schemes
• KSPCB only to insist on ultimate performance of the WWTP to meet specific quality of treated water
• If WWTP is found to be inefficient, ineffective, defective, defunct, then KSPCB must mandatorily invoke provisions of Section 30 of the Water ( Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to set right the WWTP through competent agencies and recover the monies from the original proposer and builder of the WWTP
• KSPCB to tighten its monitoring, inspection and enforcement obligations under various Acts and Rules

       F. HOW KUIDFC CAN HELP ?

• Because of mistakes committed in the past by the KSPCB  in approving unscientific schemes, several STP’s are defunct and are languishing
• KSPCB is not morally in a position to invoke provisions of Section 30  of the Water Act as above, since it is equally accountable and culpable for approving these schemes
• KUIDFC could step in, set up a special cell with a corpus of Rs. 250 crore to fund refurbishment and rehabilitation of the defunct STP’s in Bangalore at subsidized interest rates
• A vast majority of communities suffering due to defunct STP’s will readily welcome this initiative from the KUIDFC

      G. CONCLUSION

• Adoption of  simple, practical and economical strategies as above will result in enormous benefits to citizens of Bangalore
• Will Result in enormous reduction in dependence of scarce fresh water resource
• Will Result in protecting and preserving the Environment
• Will Help in rejuvenating lakes and protecting quality of water \in lakes in Bangalore 

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                                                        October 04, 2015

Director – Ecotech Engg. Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

Bangalore 560 066

Mob : 98450-62033

A CELLULAR JAIL IN MUNNAR

58. A CELLULAR JAIL IN MUNNAR

Rama ( That’s my wife ) and I planned a grand tour of hill stations in South India in the month of September 2015.  We would first drive up to Kodaikanal,  “An Island in the Sky”  as my dear friend Anil Choudhry poetically describes this quaint little town in the upper Pulnee Hills of Tamilnadu : Spend three nights in Kodai and move on to Munnar up in the Western Ghats of the same hill and forest range in the neighbouring state of Kerala.  Stay two nights in Munnar and head back to the pot holes of Bangalore after a brief one night comfort halt in Yercaud, a minor hill station in the Shevaroys near Salem, Tamilnadu.

The trip was meticulously planned with bookings in Club Mahindra resorts in Kodai and Munnar and at Sterling Resorts in Yercaud.  What we had not bargained for was our two nights of incarceration in the cellular jail of Munnar at Club Mahindra – Mount Serene.

Club Mahindra’s Mount Serene in Munnar is a faithful replica of the Cellular jail in Port Blair, Andamans which we had visited about three years ago.  Sheer greed and mindless pursuit of profit must have been the only motive to create this horror : the close similarity between the Cellular Jail and Mount Serene is extremely striking.

THE ORIGINAL CELLULAR JAIL                         FAITHFUL REPLICA OF CELLULAR JAIL

IN PORT BLAIR – ANDAMANS                            MOUNT SERENE, CLUB MAHINDRA MUNNAR

 

         

The view from the cell we were incarcerated in was nothing much to write home about : The front door opens out into a long corridor, the passageway that connects the cells of the one wing.  Beyond the corridor is the view of a similar set of cells in the adjoining wing.  The backside opens out to sit out facing a blank rock face at arms length. And on the ground below a stagnant puddle of dirty water with numerous cigarette butts.  Cigarettes smuggled in for a previous occupant by a kindly guard in a zone where smoking is a capital offence. 

The accommodation is a little larger than in the original cellular jail in Port Blair where revered freedom fighters like Veer Savarakar and others were left to languish for years together.  A saving grace was the attached toilet which is slightly more modern in comparison to the original which was simply a hole in the floor.

Escape from this Class A confined space to the outside world is a Herculean task since it is more than a kilometer and a half via an extremely steep, winding, narrow path designed to challenge a mountain goat.  There is heavy security at every turn of the road and this Eagles Nest may be accessed only using the shuttle transport provided by the management of this facility.

Communication with the outside world is disabled at this height since cell phones do not work.  Wifi was said to be available in the common mess and the toilet near the inmates reception area, both locations deliberately chosen to discourage even feeble attempts at contact with the outside world. 

And Oh ! the ultimate shame and ignominy, the kick in the stomach came at the time of signing the release papers from the facility after paying the dues.  The uniformed man behind the desk simply said credit cards not accepted.  We know your kind.  “ It will be cash on the Barrelhead Son “

Ah ! at last a glimmer of hope for this Godforsaken facility.  These closing words brought a smile to my face as I recalled one of my all time favourite songs with that identical title by the Louvin Brothers Ira and Charlie :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDbylmeOdaY

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                                                                    September 24, 2015