Trickling of leachate - pollutant that seeps through garbage - into the Thane creek from the Mulund dumping ground has become a major cause of concern for fishermen
Trickling of leachate - pollutant that seeps through garbage - into the Thane creek from the Mulund dumping ground has become a major cause of concern for fishermen as well as environmentalists. The leachate, say environmentalists, has affected marine life and the day is not far when the ground water table will also be affected by it.
“The garbage was first dumped on nullahs. When we brought it to the notice of the BMC, they changed the location towards the creek side,” said MM Moinkar of Kamdhenu building at Hari Om Nagar in Mulund (E).
The leachate flow has deprived 300 fishermen from Kopri village of their livelihood. They have stopped fishing due to excessive pollution in the creek waters. As if the 40-foot mound on the dumping ground was not enough, 500 tonnes of garbage from the Gorai dumping ground was diverted to it. The civic body has started scientific closure of the Gorai dumping ground.
“We caught crabs, shrimps, nivtya and gitadia. But with garbage falling into the waters, fishes have become rare. Even our nets get torn,” said Neelam Bhoir from Kopri village.
According to Rishi Agarwal from Mumbai Environment Social Netwrok, leachate is toxic and when it enters the waters, it interferes with the food chain. No segregated garbage comes into the dumping ground.
Agarwal said that the ground below the dumping ground is porous and leachate would seep into ground water as well. “The primary impact is on creek waters. But over a decade, it will percolate into the water table. If water tables have wells, drinking water will get contaminated,” he said.
Deputy municipal commissioner BR Marathe, who is part of a committee formed to look into the issues of the Mulund dumping ground, said, “Our duty is limited - to supervise chemical fogging and monitor spraying of deodisers. We are not concerned with leachate flow into the creek.”
Environmentalists say that there is no prompt solution to prevent leachate inflow as it is not a scientific landfill.
“The problem is that there’s no intelligent waste management practice in the city and there are no incentives given by BMC to reduce waste at source,” said Agarwal.
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