Even as the BMC claims to have completed 99 per cent of the desilting work in the city till June 5, corporators from various wards are blaming the civic body for not completing the work and being ill-prepared for monsoons. The deadline for finishing desilting works in the city was June 7. “The civic body keeps claiming that they have finished the work, but visit any major nallah in the city and the condition is still bad. We can definitely claim that the civic body has not even finished 25 per cent of the desilting work in the city,” said Devendra Amberkar, leader of the opposition. In the eastern suburbs, major nallahs like Somaiya nallah and Rafiq nallah in Chembur are filled with dirt and in the western suburbs, nallahs like Irla and Rasraj nallah in Juhu are also breeding spots for mosquitoes, claimed Amberkar. Rais Shaikh, corporator from the North-East ward said the problem lies with the cleaning of minor nallahs, which are more hazardous for citizens. “A major reason for ailments in slums during monsoons is because the work in the minor nallahs remain incomplete and we only focus on the major ones. The water remains stagnant for days,” he said. A senior civic official from the storm water drains department said, “We have released the latest reports and 99 per cent of the work has been completed in the city. We are running on-schedule.” tanushree.venkatraman@expressindia.com
