Debris in Mutha riverbed poses flood threat

PUNE: Residents on Sinhagad Road live in the fear of floods this monsoon, a fear they feel is justified by the

debris

dumped into the Mutha

riverbed

.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the civic body to demolish a bund along the river bank, but residents say it had dumped the resulting debris into the river.

"A visiting irrigation minister had suggested building that bund along the river bank to act as a barricade from

flood

waters. It was the PMC's responsibility to tell him that it wasn't feasible. Later, a road was planned atop this bund to ease movement for residents of a large township nearby," said architect and environmentalist Sarang Yadwadkar.

However, the bund and proposed road reduced the width of the river along the 1.5-km, stretch while being located within the blue floodline, prompting the directive.

Amid protests from residents, the debris removal only took place partially in 2016. In addition, residents claim that the debris was simply dumped into the riverbed. Yadwadkar confirmed this claim. "The bund was 30 feet high. Now debris from the bund simply lies on the riverbed."

If there is flooding, the water will flow into residential areas around the river, he added. The irrigation department official concurred. "It affects the flow of the river and could prove dangerous to the surrounding residential areas," he said.

When contacted, executive engineer at the Khadakwasla irrigation division P B Shelar stated that he was not aware of debris being dumped into the river. "However, that is a serious matter and we will immediately look into it," he told TOI.