Bavdhan residents go on hunger strike for their river

Say illegal dumping of debris in Ramnadi puts area at risk of severe flooding

Bavdhan residents go on hunger strike for their river

Say illegal dumping of debris in Ramnadi puts area at risk of severe flooding

More than a half-dozen residents from Bavdhan are on a two-day hunger strike along with civic activists to protest against the illegal dumping of waste and construction debris in the Ramnadi. They say such abuse of the river has been rampant for over two months.

Flowing woes: Residents of Bavdhan stage a hunger strike to protest
against the dumping of waste in Ramnadi River. Pic/Jignesh Mistry

The agitation began yesterday at the Ramnagar Gate in Bavdhan. The 18.2 km Ramnadi has seen heavy dumping of waste, allegedly by developers and other private entities, which according to sewage and drainage expert and civic activist Sarang Yadwadkar will lead to massive flash floods in the Bavdhan and Pashan areas.
"The debris will narrow the channel of the river, causing it to overflow," said Yadwadkar.

According to Indu Gupta, a resident of Sai Kamal, which is right on theriverfront, there were severe flooding last year on September 29 when the river overflowed, with water entering all the residents homes. Gupta said the water level in the Ramnadi had increased to 12 feet within 10 minutes.

"If the dumping continues, the situation will be more catastrophic this monsoon," said Gupta. "My housing society had faced losses between Rs 2 crore and Rs 3 crore, with damages to my home being worth Rs 20 lakh."

Another society, Mont Verte, saw its clubhouse and parking flooded. "The Mayor had also paid a visit and made a lot of promises, but he seems to have forgotten about it now," said Yadwadkar. Activists had also sent a delegation to the District Collector and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on April 15, citing their demands and asking the authorities to check the practice.

The dumping of waste and debris in the Ramnadi has been a burning issue since February this year. Show-cause notices have also been issued to Praj Industries and a plot owner, Rajendra Bandal, for dumping debris and excavating by the side of the river by Tehsildar of Mulshi Taluka Bhausaheb Jadhav.

The action was taken after residents repeatedly went on protests to highlight the possibility of uncontrollable floods if the course of the river became obstructed because of the dumping.

Another river
A PUBLIC interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by members of the Baner Area Sabha (BAS) in the Bombay High Court and NGO Jalbiradari on April 21 to oppose the channelisation of the Devnadi being carried out by the PMC. The respondents in the case are the contractors of the project, the PMC, and the state government's Urban Development Department (UDD) and the Environment Ministry. Sunil Joshi and Anupam Saraph are the representatives from the BAS.