Saharanpur – The Woodcraft Capital of India  

Though Saharanpur happens to be well industrialised city, known for the paper industry, Tobacco production with ITC (Indian Tobacco Industry’s) manufacturing plant, sugar mills, sand and stone works, nothing beats the wood carving handicraft works from the city. For all practical purposes, calling Saharanpur as the woodcraft or wood handicraft capital of the country wouldn’t be an overstatement.

But today in this article, let explore all the different aspects of the city, from ancient history to demography to geography and to the most important livability quotient.

The Ancient Times
The archaeological survey has proved that the evidence of different cultures is available in this area. The excavations were carried out in different parts of the district, i.e Ambakheri, Bargaon, Hulas, Bhadarabad and Naseerpur etc. A number of things have been found during these excavations, on the basis of which, it is established that in Saharanpur district, the earliest habitants were found as early as 2000 B.C. Traces of Indus Valley civilisation and even earlier are available and now it can be definitely established that this region is connected with Indus valley civilisation. Ambakheri, Bargaon, Naseerpur and Hulas were the centres of Harappa culture because many things similar to Harappan civilization were found in these areas.

Geography
Saharanpur is located at 29.96°N 77.50°E to 29.97°N 77.60°E, about 140 kilometers, south of Chandigarh, 170 kilometers, north of Delhi, and about 61 kilometers, south-west of Dehradun. The border touches the state of Uttarakhand (Roorkee) on one side and Haryana (Yamuna Nagar) on the other side. It has an average elevation of 269 meters (883 ft). Saharanpur is a part of a geographical doab region. Saharanpur district join four states together Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana.

Demography
According to the 2011 Indian census, Saharanpur had a population of 705,478, 12.5 per cent of whom were under the age of six, living in 129,856 households within the municipal corporation limits. The city is spread over an area of 46.74 km² and with a population density of 15,093.67/km², is the eleventh most populous city in Uttar Pradesh. Saharanpur had a population of 455,754 in 2001 and 374,945 in 1991.

Males constitute of 52.7 per cent of the total population while females constitute of 47.3 per cent of the total population and thus, the city has a sex ratio of 891 females for every 1,000 males. The city has an average literacy rate of 76.32 per cent. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes account for 14.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent of the population respectively. There are 233,196 people, constituting about 33 per cent of the total population, who live in slums in the city.

Administration
Saharanpur is spread over 3689.41 sq. kms., divided in to 5 tehsils spread over 11 blocks. The rural portion has 113 panchayats governing 1575 villages, and a total population of 3467330 (as per 2011 census). It falls under Yamuna flood plain, though it has 5 rivers as a part of major drainage (all Yamuna Tributaries) namely, Hindon, Kali, Nagdeo, Solani and Yamuna itself. The district has over exploited ground Water with over 2,10,000 Bore wells & Tube wells. Average Annual Rainfall has been reducing over the years, as per the records of independent India till the new millennia (1950-2000) the AAR was recorded to be 963 mm, while between 2009-2018 it came down to 877 mm.

Water – Livability Quotient
The Saharanpur district has an agriculture-based economy; about 75 per cent of its total area is under cultivation. The rural population of the district mainly depends upon agriculture resources for their livelihood. Assured irrigation is one of the most essential factors for obtaining the optimal agriculture yield. The gross irrigated area in the district is 375604 ha out of which about 84% is being irrigated through the ground water resources. Hence, the ground water is playing a vital role in the irrigation. Out of 11 blocks in total, 5 blocks are over exploited, 4 are critical, only 1 is semi-critical and just 1 is safe, from the ground water perspective.

During this planned constructive growth of the country, the central Government of the Country, the state Government of Uttar Pradesh and the urban local Government of Saharanpur (i.e., Nagar Nigam, Nagar Panchayat or Panchayat Parishads, all put together) – all understand the significance of Water and the dire need to recreate the natural abundance of it for the socio-economic growth of the city & the district, be it industrial development or the agricultural productivity boost. Although, it has been a Water abundant region in the past, being the sugarcane belt of the state with maximum Sugar mills being installed here, but gone are the days. Over extraction of underground Water, contamination of the surface Waterbodies and encroachment of land mafias in past has put Saharanpur in the list of the most Water stressed district list of the state.

Sewage Network and facilities
As per a recent report by NMCG (year 2020), the sewerage system in Saharanpur was partially developed and mainly interception and diversion and STP works were provided in the city under Yamuna Action Plan-1 in the year 1998. The total length of sewerage network in Saharanpur Nagar Nigam is about 111km. out of which 27.37km. is trunk sewer and 84.15km is branch sewers.

There are 3 Intermediate Pumping Stations (IPS) and 1 Main Pumping Station (MPS). The Intermediate Pumping Stations (IPS) pumps the sewage to Main Pumping Station (MPS) and from there; it is pumped to sewage form at treatment plant located at Praduman Nagar STP. Presently, in Saharanpur city one Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) of 38 MLD located at Praduman Nagar is maintained by the Saharanpur Nagar Nigam through Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (UPJN). Treated effluent is disposed in River Dhamola. Saharanpur city does not have a proper sewerage system and all houses have individual septic tanks that discharge in to open drains causing pollution. Individual septic tanks are not properly maintained in the city and are major source of pollution.

The water requirement for the city in the year 2020 is 112.48 MLD, if considered for the year 2023 the estimated water requirement will be as 118.22 MLD. The sewage generation in 2023 is considered as 80 per cent of total water supplied which works out 108 LPCD, therefore the estimated sewage generation in the year 2023 will be 95 MLD (Existing STP is 38 MLD and proposed STP is for 85 MLD, total 123 MLD of Sewerage Treatment capacities will be available in 2023).

The untreated sewerage disposal is a critical area; most of the wastewater of town and from un-sewered areas is discharged directly into the drains creating unhygienic environment. Likewise, the effluents of industries, effluent of different slaughter houses are also discharged directly into the drains without any treatment. Ultimately, all this waste water, mixed with run off and storm Water lands up into the natural waterbodies like ponds, lakes, River and rivulets, choking them with sludge deposits and restricting the aquifer recharge and rain water harvesting.

Madhukar Swayambhu is known for his career in IT communication network industry for over two decades followed by his almost a decade long work in the environment ecology, Indic Knowledge System (IKS), and his invention of Cownomics^® Technology, which is globally the most recognised, endorsed, certified, standardised and appreciated technology in Climate Tech space, which is completely based on Indian Vaidic Sciences. A TED speaker, he has been decorated with various national and international awards, including Water Hero, by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, and has been
recognised as globally No. 2 author by Smart Water Magazine, Spain.