Pune residents caught in ‘weed war’

Bopodi corporator Shrikant Patil has blamed the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) for the problem of water hydrilla in his ward, saying it had done nothing to stop the its growth in the Pavana river.

“The confluence of Pavana and Mutha rivers is located in my ward. Every summer, the PMC’s health department ties a rope across the river bank to stop the influx of the water weed from Pavana into the Mutha, under the vector control programme. However, the PCMC staff cut the rope at night, thus choking the Mutha,” he alleged.

According to him, although PCMC floats tenders valued at Rs14 lakh every year for clearing the weed, no concrete steps are taken to control its proliferation. He said the contractor pushes the mass of hydrilla along the flow of the river into the PMC limits.

The problem of hydrilla is particularly acute in Bopodi, between Harris Bridge in Khadki and Rajiv Gandhi Bridge in Aundh. Dr Sadashiv Patole, PMC’s medical officer, put the blame squarely on the PCMC for the recurring problem.

He said the PMC has a team of 20 workers to check the growth of the weed. “The problem is aggravated because of the extreme pollution in the river, which provides fertile ground for hydrilla,” he said.

Patil said he had written several letters to the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal commissioner asking him to look into the matter, but got no reply.

“I have even asked municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade to take up the matter with his counterpart in the PCMC. However, no action was taken by him in this regard,” he said.