Citizens fight for Ramnadi's flow

PUNE: The civic administration has bowed to pressure from local residents in Bavdhan and has promised that desilting of the Ramnadi and removal of all illegal constructions along its banks will happen by May 31. All things going well, Ramnadi should flow freely in the near future.
Citizens residing along the Ramnadi were on a relay hunger strike for the last two days to press for their demands.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, additional city engineer Vivek Kharwadkar said the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has put in place an action plan for removal of illegal constructions. "We have prepared a survey identifying all obstructions along the Ramnadi and the list will be made public on the PMC website on Monday. Severe action will be taken against encroachers, so that such constructions never come up in the future. We will also not spare the influential," he said.
Kharwadkar has promised that punitive action will be taken against those dumping rubble in all rivers, including Ramnadi, and all ward officers have been instructed to be alert to such illegal activities. "We are considering issuing stop-work notices to developers who may be involved in illegal dumping of debris."
The assurances from the civic administration are clearly an outcome of the relay hunger-strike by residents of Bavdhan. Last monsoon, there was a flash flood in the area when it had rained heavily within a short span of time in September. The reason was constriction of the Ramnadi, by means of constructions along its banks and heavy dumping of rubble. The local residents here had faced severe losses, when water had gushed into their homes.
The Ramnadi originates from Bavdhan and flows via Pashan, Sutarwadi, Baner to Someshwarwadi. The natural river channel and the sub-basins that flow into it have narrowed down over the years. Any heavy spell of rain leads to water gushing into the residential complexes built along the banks.
In 2007, a survey conducted by the district collector and the PMC had showed the width of the Ramnadi as having shrunk by eight to 20 metres. However, citizens allege that no action was taken to remove encroachments and stop dumping of construction rubble, which soon became a regular feature there.
The citizens then came together under the banner of Bavdhan Area Sabha earlier this year and with the support of Jal Biradari (a movement of river activists initiated by Magasaysay awardee Rajendra Singh) went on a relay hunger strike on April 25 and 26 to press for their demands.
City mayor Mohansingh Rajpal, additional commissioner Naresh Zurmure, additional city engineer Vivek Kharwadkar and local ward officials met the residents on Wednesday to discuss the issue.
Vinod Bodhankar of the Jal Biradari told the officials and Rajpal that local citizens are living in fear with the monsoon looming large over their heads. He said, "The monsoon brings along anxiety for us, especially since we know what havoc the floods can play. We want PMC to give us a clear cut plan of what will be the measures taken to ensure our safety. We also want to know what will be the action taken against dumping and illegal construction activities."
Sunil Joshi of Jal Biradari said if the PMC fails to act and if there is even a single death caused by drowning or loss of property during the forthcoming monsoon, the local residents will have no option but to file a Public Interest Litigation and a criminal offence against the civic body.
Rajpal then assured the residents the civic administration will make all efforts to minimize the problems.
Kharwadkar told the residents that twopronged action will be taken to ensure that Ramnadi flows freely. "First, five sub-basins of Ramnadi have been identified, where culverts will be reinstated for water to flow through them properly. The work on this has started since the last two days. Similarly, our entire machinery has been deployed for desilting work, which will be completed by May 10," Kharwadkar said.
Once 48 metres wide, down by 8-20 metres
In an 1890 map of the Bavdhan area, Ramnadi is referred to as a river with an original width of 48 metres. Even the national register of large dams published by the Central Water Commission in 1990 clearly mentions that the Pashan dam has been constructed on the 'river' Ramnadi. However, it was termed a 'nullah' in the draft DP for the 23 villages by the civic administration in 2005. This ambiguity led to wide-spread illegal constructions along the banks of the river. In September 2007, the PMC general body passed a resolution to request the state government to carry out the modification of retaining Ramnadi's status as a river, while granting a final clearance to the DP for 23 villages. However, the government has deferred the decision on Ramnadi. A survey conducted by the district collector in 2007 showed that the width of the river has been reduced by eight to 20 meters. It also showed that at some places, the direction of the river has changed drastically.