A delegation from River March met the commissioner last week to discuss the poor condition of rivers, especially the ones at Dahisar, Poisar and Oshiwara
River March, a citizen initiative for protecting and rejuvenating four rivers of Mumbai, has received a major shot in the arm after municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi promised a slew of measures to save rivers.
These include no concretisation of riverbeds, studying feasibility of constructing more check dams, action against stables that dump their waste in rivers, as well as installation of sewage treatment plants (STP) to improve the condition of the rivers.
A delegation from River March met the commissioner last week to discuss the poor condition of rivers, especially the ones at Dahisar, Poisar and Oshiwara. Citizen members were pleasantly surprised that Pardeshi not only gave them a patient hearing and appreciated their work but was also vocal about the need to protect the rivers.
River March founder Gopal Jhaveri said the group has been fighting with BMC over concretisation of riverbeds for many years. "So we were happy when the new commissioner told us beds of rivers or tributaries would not be concretised. Instead they will use gabion structures that consist of rocks and steel wire mesh. He told his staff as much, which was a major relief to us," said Jhaveri.
After the delegation highlighted how stables dotting Dahisar river were flouting norms by dumping animal waste and carcasses into the river, Pardeshi asked BMC officials to take strict action.
"He asked assistant municipal commissioner Ramakant Biradar of R-Central ward to file FIRs if needed. We have been demanding demolition of all these tabelas as they operate without mandatory permissions," said Vikram Chogle, a local BJP leader and member of River March.
Tejas Shah, who was also part of the delegation, said they informed the commissioner about Mumbai's first urban check dam, built on Dahisar river just outside Sanjay Gandhi National Park. "We stressed the need for such dams across other rivers and he asked officials to carry out a joint survey with River March to study the feasibility of having these check dams at more sites," he said.
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