Pune: The rivers' exploitation starts miles away from cities, where civic bodies often face activists' ire for dumping untreated waste into them.
The Jal Dindi Prathisthan, which organises the sacred voyage (dindi) on Indrayani and Bhima rivers every year, has found the quality of rivers' water deteriorating consistently over the years. Vishwas Yeole, a gynaecologist and the inspiration behind the dindi, says, "It can be conveniently said that most of our rivers do not have natural water. What you see is all sewage, released carelessly into rivers ignoring all environmental norms."
While cities have grown exponentially, their cascading effect has been found to be equally profound. "Not everyone can afford to buy a house in Pune or Pimpri Chinchwad. It's too expensive. People move to nearby villages where construction norms are relaxed and property prices are low. So, a municipal corporation may succeed in checking illegal constructions within its jurisdiction, but the same cannot be said about adjoining village panchayats," said a builder of Shirgaon village, about 20km from Pimpri Chinchwad.
Sangita Gopale, the sarpanch of Shirgaon, has been fighting a lone battle against indiscriminate dumping into Pavana river. "The untreated sewage released by one ashram shala (residential school for tribal students) in our village flows through a canal into the river. This has been going on for more than a decade. We have met the head of the trust running the school and tehsildars several times, asking them to stop this discharge because it was affecting the quality of river water, our source of drinking water. But nothing has been done till date," said Gopale.
Prakash Deole, the founder trustee of Shri Sai Baba Temple Trust in Shirgaon, which manages the ashram shala, at first denied releasing waste into the river. When confronted with facts, Deole said the processing will start shortly.
"The black water is diverted to a septic tank while the grey water will be treated at a processing plant to be set up in May. We are committed to the welfare of the village," the temple trustee said.
The village recently set up a water purification plant on its own after a tehsil-level committee declared that the fluoride content of the river water was too high for human consumption.
The menace runs far deeper. The place where the sewage carrying canal meets the river has turned marshy. (See picture)
Foul smell makes it difficult to even stand on the riverside. Villagers say the stench spreads all over the village around 6pm, when the major discharge happens. Even if the village treats its share of drinking water, the remaining discharge only pollutes the river that flows down towards the city.
There are about 50 villages on the banks of Pavana up to Ravet, the point where Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has a huge water treatment plant. All villages release their untreated waste into the river. Besides, there are industries along the river, which add to the menace every river in this country is facing today.
Block development officer Smita Patil said sewage treatment was a must for all before they released the discharge into rivers. When asked if the government had issued notices to the guilty parties in last 10 to 12 years, Patil said, "I will have to check the old records."
Tehsildar Sharad Patil, who took charge of Maval taluka recently, said he had received the villagers' complaint and forwarded it to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). "There is nothing more that my department could do," he said.
The onus is on the MPCB to act against the offenders. "We are in receipt of the villagers' complaint. A two-member team will be sent to Shirgaon this week for inspection and a report will be prepared accordingly," said an MPCB official on the condition of anonymity.
The villagers, meanwhile, have warned of a hunger strike if the discharge does not stop immediately.
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