Journalism of Courage
The district collectorate has asked the civic bodies of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to come up with a plan to curb river pollution,by April 9.
On Tuesday,collector Chandrakant Dalvi addressed a meeting of representatives from both the civic bodies and industries and asked them to forward a plan to solve the problem of the rising river pollution in the district. Members of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC),Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC),Zilla Parishad,municipal councils and industrial units attended the meeting.
With pollution rising,especially of the Bhima river and its tributaries ,the district administration has decided to charted out a plan to identify the source of pollution and specify measures to address the problem. The district will soon formulate plans for tributaries of the Indrayani,Mula, Mutha and Pavana,officials said.
Resident deputy collector Anil Pawar said the plan would include all utilities domestic,industrial and treatment of water. Short term and long term measures for solid waste management will be highlighted.
Dalvi has also directed the Zilla Parishad and Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran to prepare an intermediate plan to provide clean and safe drinking water to residents of the villages on river banks.
Tuesdays meeting was a follow-up of a meeting on the issue held on March 5 under the chairmanship of Assembly Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil. The river pollution issue was raised in the last Assembly session.
The Mula,Mutha,Pavana and Indrayani flow through Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad areas and join the Bhima river. The release of 700 million litres of untreated sewage water and industrial effluents from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad areas into the Bhima affecting life in 75 villages downstream was also discussed.
