Visakhapatnam: Cashing in on the dire situation, septic tank cleaning operators reportedly loot the households in the city by collecting a huge amount. They were unnecessarily increasing the number of trips and the quantity of septic tank cleaning chemical charged heavily.
V. Madhu, a resident of Gajuwaka, said that the septic tank cleaner had moved the vehicle four times instead of one time. Moreover, he observed that only a quarter bottle of chemical was used to clean the tank. But, he had to pay for five bottles.
“Being a technical person, I know the dimensions of our septic tank and its capacity. The tank can be emptied in a single trip of a 5,000-litre capacity vehicle. The operator was fooling us by transporting the empty van. Not everyone will find this,” he said.
Usually, septic tank cleaners take roughly `4,000-5,000 per trip. Instead of emptying the whole tank in one trip, they were allegedly running half-filled tankers to attract more money.
When asked about the exorbitant costs of septic tank services, GVMC chief medical and health officer Dr A. Hemanth said that the civic body had given permission to only a few septic tankers. Some unlicensed players were also plying their vehicles in the city.
“If we find such unauthorised vehicles, we will immediately seize them. The residents must contact the toll-free number to regulate them. The emptying shall be channelised through GVMC to curb this illegal system. However, this menace will stop in the next 2-3 months,” he informed.
About 40 per cent of the city already has underground drainage. Once the city is completely brought under the UGD network, there is no requirement for vacuum emptying of septic tank.
A survey has to be done to identify the remaining number of houses without UGD.
The GVMC had formulated faecal sludge and septate management policy in April 2018 for streamlining the emptying of septic tanks. Under this, the households shall empty the septic tank every three years. This policy will be implemented in a couple of months after the survey.
