Pune Municipal Corporation carries out nala-cleaning drive

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has launched a major pre-monsoon nala-cleaning drive across the city for the past 10 days. Covering five river basins and 15 nalas, it has been undertaken to avoid incidences of flash floods, which had wreaked havoc in the city last year.

The civic authorities have identified Kothrud, Warje, Pashan, Bavdhan and Baner as danger spots in the city.

“Last year, the onslaught of the flash floods was the most in these areas, so we are paying utmost attention to prevent any untoward incidents in these areas,” said Vivek Kharwadkar,
the PMC’s additional city engineer. The work is being undertaken by all ward offices along with staff from the building permission and other departments of the PMC.

According to Kharwadkar, the major portion of the nala work consists of de-silting the waterways to avoid any obstruction in the flow of water. Around 100 excavators are at work across the city.

“Over the years, the natural nalas in the city have been neglected. Besides, debris is also dumped into them indiscriminately, further reducing their width. So, a major chunk of the work involves removing the silt and removal of encroachments on the nalas,” he said.

The excavated silt is spread across the banks of the nalas, but plans are afoot to transport it to PMC gardens later on.

Encroachments, in the form of compound walls, have been
demolished along the course of the nalas. The work also involves removal of pipe culverts in the course of the nalas.

Along with the civic officials, local builders are also participating in the drive, said Kharwadkar.

“Before Baner and other areas were incorporated within the PMC limits, the gram panchayat had installed pipe culverts along the nalas to channel the flow of water. This had increased the probability of floods. We have removed those pipe culverts and are replacing them with box culverts,” he said.