First it started growing in Ambazari lake and then extended its tentacles to Naag river, Pili nadi--the Eichhornia it seems is not in a mood to disappear. Administration does its duty--sometimes it removes this weed to some extent, then stops, paving way for its regrowth again. Two days ago, Milind Pendse, a resident of Bharat Nagar during ‘Ambazari parikrama’ noticed the weed’s exponential growth, took photos and sent them to ‘The Hitavada’. The photos show that Eichhornia has enveloped the lake with a little sight of water. Dr Alka Chaturvedi, former Head of Post Graduate Department of Botany, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University explained, “Eichhornia is to be monitored constantly. One can’t become idle after removing the weed.

 

It keeps growing faster, preventing oxygen to enter inside waterbody. It results in choking the aqua life. It also pollutes the water making it unsuitable for drinking. Despite repeated directives from the Prime Minister in 2022 to rejuvenate or at least clean the river, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has done little. It was ‘The Hitavada’ that brought to the notice of earlier Municipal Commissioner regarding the growth of Eichhornia in East Nagpur. The administration was unaware about the development and consulted NEERI and such institutes but nobody knows the final outcome. It seems that NMC is not endeavouring the way it should have done to find solution to the Eichhornia menace.