‘Clean Nag, Pili, Pora rivers in 20 days’

Staff Reporter :

Taking advantage of space provided by lockdown in city, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has undertaken exercise to cleanse the 17 km stretch of Nag River. Municipal Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, during last week only had ordered civic officials to prepared for removal of debris, sludge and garbage through the expanse of the signature river of city. The work started from near Panchasheel Square as within short notice the necessary machinery, excavators, tippers were put in place by NMC officials. It did not take them much time as due to closure of sites the machines were lying idle.

Commissioner has given time frame of 20 days to complete the annual process of cleaning the banks of Nag River, Pili River and Pora River having total length of 48 kms. However, longest patch is that of Nag River, stretching 17 kms, and it is divided in five parts and each would be supervised by separate officers. Mohd Israel, Advisor, Rivers and Reservoir, has been entrsuted the task of ensuring proper cleaning of the three rivers, so that during monsoon they do not get flooded.

These three rivers are now a days reduced to simply big nullah but their role in quite important in carrying away the solid and liquid waste to Punapur-Bharatwada, in case of Nag and Pili River. During monsoon these three rivers effectively ensure that rain water is accommodate and transported ahead to the sewage treatment plant. Though entire sewerage is not being treated and most the water gets emptied into Kanhan expanse which carried it forward to Wainganga river. Shewta Banerjee, Superintending Engineer, and Ujjwal Lanjewar, Mechanical Engineer, were named as co-ordinator for river cleaning drive.

In the first sage, expanse from Panchasheel Square till Ambazari overflow point would be cleaned, the bed deepened and bushes and other obstruction on banks removed. Municipal Commissioner view point is that as of now due to lockdown civic machinery would have quite an easy time in lifting the removed slush, garbage and other material and transporting the same to dumping yard. Normally, every year during the cleaning drive the removed slush, mud, garbage is not lifted away and kept by side of banks which defeats the purpose of drive. As during rains these slush again gets deposited in the river banks resulting in flooding of low lying areas. Also many localities would get submerged in aftermath of heavy rains and hence this year for the first time in March the cleaning drive is undertaken by municipal administration.