Rampant garbage & debris dumping in Mutha’s restricted zone after flood lines recede by 80m

Pune: Encroachment, dumping of construction debris and heaps of garbage are common sights along the Mutha river before merging with the Mula river near Sangam brigde and flowing downstream as the Mula-Mutha.
Besides being an ugly sight, they are impediments to the Mutha’s flow during the monsoon when water is released from upstream dams which causes flooding in low-lying areas close to the river.

Activists lay the blame on flood lines that were redrawn in 2016. A PIL by architect Sarang Yadwadkar said erroneous maps wrongly shifting the flood lines to the centre of the river up to 80m were included in the 2017 development plan (DP) for Pune.
Consequently, the prohibitive zone was converted to a developable zone. The incorrect maps were retained as excluded portions in the final sanctioned DP. Building permissions have been given based on the fraudulent flood lines.
This has led to the pollution of the riverbanks and the river since people do not realise that it is a restricted zone.
The Mutha enters the city at Shivne, flows past Sinhagad Road areas, Mhatre Bridge, Deccan Gymkhana, PMC building and meets the Mula river near the RTO. A ToI team that visited various locations along the river on Thursday observed a riverbed in need of largescale clean-up.
A huge load of unattended debris in Deccan Gymkhana area on the left bank of the Mutha river is an eyesore. Sohan Kelkar, a regular visitor, said that debris is dumped indiscriminately but authorities look the other way.
He added, “Dumping of waste and debris, encroachments are regular. There are scores of foodstalls that have come up in the land reclaimed after the river’s flood lines were redrawn,” Kelkar said.
At Shivne too, piles of mud and construction debris was dumped on the riverbed along the flood line. Similar dumping was witnessed near Sangam bridge in RTO area and in Vitthalwadi. People from Sinhagad Road area said that unattended garbage and debris have not been addressed.
Garbage on the riverbed near Chhatrapati Sambhaji garden was also set afire. Local resident Ajay Kachi said that PMC’s squads should step up vigil to stop garbage being brought to the riverbed.
He said that citizens are not aware of flood lines and what they mean. Authorities should mark them at all possible locations so that people are aware that these are restricted zones and must not be sullied, Kachi added.
Sinhagad Road resident S S Kulkarni said many pockets along Sinhagad Road witness flooding every monsoon when Khadakwasla dam discharges water into the Mutha river.
These instances of flooding are up. Illegal constructions that have been allowed to flourish within flood lines should stop. The PMC has allowed huge residential buildings to come up very close to the riverbed, he added.
Yadvadkar, who filed the PIL in Bombay high court, said the flood lines have to be redrawn and monitoring intensified to stop encroachments. “The irrigation department will have to conduct a survey and redraw the flood lines,” Yadvadkar said.
Shailaja Deshpande, of Jeevitnadi forum, said that rivers in Pune have become sewers. “Mutha river is dead but it can be rejuvenated. The natural green canopy of rivers has been disturbed. Streams that flow into the rivers have been blocked. Encroachments are deteriorating the state of rivers,” she added.
Vivek Velanakar of Sajag Nagrik Manch said that construction along the river must stop. “PMC has to restrict construction in flood lines. The flood carrying capacity has shrunk because of changes in flood lines,” he said.
An irrigation department official said that monitoring the riverbed is PMC’s responsibility. “We will offer all support to the civic body to keep vigil,” the official added.
Sandeep Kadam, head of PMC’s solid waste management department, said that squads are deployed to take on-the-spot action against dumping of waste and garbage in the river. Monitoring is done at night as well, he added.