Residents, who have been unhappy with the quality of desilting work, are now disgruntled because heaps of slimy silt have been left on the roads, with no sign of disposal in the offing
Residents, who have been unhappy with the quality of desilting work, are now disgruntled because heaps of slimy silt have been left on the roads, with no sign of disposal in the offingu00a0
Clearly, the BMC needs to be given some lessons on how to clean up after itself. Unseemly mounds of muck dug out of nullahs in the city's suburbs in the desilting drive that was flagged off on April 25, can still be seen lining the streets, causing inconvenience to commuters and residents. With the monsoons nearing, there is a chance that the slimy waste will go slithering right back to where it came from, carried byu00a0 rainwater. It appears that the astronomical sum allotted to the BMC for desilting sewers has been literally going down the drain. The BMC has removed more than 2 lakh cubic metres of silt from the drains. But its lackadaisical attitude in cleaning up its own mess has left residents angst-ridden. Only 1.5 lakh cubic metres have been transported to the dumping grounds, while the rest is still on the roads.
Malad link road
BMC officials confirmed that complaints are pouring in. The BMC is on a mission to complete the desilting nullahs and drains before the advent of monsoons. A whopping Rs 131 crore has been set aside by the civic body for the purpose. In the eastern region of the suburbs, 62 per cent of the desilting work has been completed in major nullahs such as the Vishwanagar nullah and Somaiya nullah. The budget awarded to the civic body for desilting work in this region is Rs 22 crore. In the western suburbs, 68 per cent of desiltingu00a0 has been completed, a budget of Rs 20 crore having been allotted. Residents, however, are less than pleased at the quality of work done.
Residentspeak
Surindra Khubchandani, a resident of Khar, who is also a member of the H-West Federation, said, "A few days back, workers came to my area to clean the storm water drains (SWD), but the whole thing was just an eyewash. When I asked them to lift the covers and clean the drains, they refused. I called up the ward officials, but even then the workers showed little enthusiasm." He added, "The slimy waste that was removed from the SWDs has been left unattended. When we brought this negligence to the notice of the BMC officials, they informed us that agencies had been contracted to evacuate it from the roads. However, they failed to tell us when the work would actually be done."
Khar
An elderly resident of DN Nagar, Andheri, has also lodged a complaint in protest of the distasteful debris lying on the street near his residence. Speaking to MiD DAY , he said, "I have been writing letters to the BMC, requesting them to arrange for the speedy removal of the desilted slime. But my complaints have been falling on deaf ears. Left with no option, I made a trip to the complaint officer myself. If this complaint is also ignored, then I will approach the engineer in charge of maintenance. As soon as the rains start pouring, all the all the desilted muck will go right back into the drains, rendering all their efforts futile."
P-North ward
A similar sight is in store for residents and commuters in the Link Road on P-North block, owing to the muck that has been lying unattended for a week. Abdul Nasir, owner of a property consultancy in the area, said, "The gutter was desilted a week ago. We can still see silt lying untouched on the streets, with no effort being made by the civic authorities to dispose of it. We made attempts to speak to the contractor, but he eluded us.
Our complaints have repeatedly gone unheard." He added, "The waste is blocking the entrance to our office. The foul odour is unbearable. These unseemly heaps have usurped our parking spots. Movement on the pavements is also being obstructed." Inacia D'Souza, a resident in the area, lamented, "We find it difficult to walk on the streets. The muck is gradually spreading all over the road. The stench is overwhelming. Manhole covers have also been left open. We cannot tread the sidewalks anymore, but must walk bang in the middle of the roads, dodging traffic. Things are in an utter mess.
Sion
Said resident Mannu Gupta, "When I brought the open manhole to the contractors' notice, he spoke in a belligerent tone, asking us not to interfere. When I pointed out to him that a woman had fallen in the open manhole yesterday, he had his subordinates carelessly place the manhole cover, without arranging it in the grooves. Anyone may fall through."
No fines to pay?
The contractors roped in for the purpose of removing the waste have been instructed to do so on the very day that cleaning is done, and thereafter deposit it at the Mulund and Deonar dumping grounds. The contractors are paid at the rate of Rs 85 per cubic metre for the smaller nullahs, and Rs 201 per cubic metre for the wider pavement gutters, known as boxed converts. MiD DAY discovered that a penalty should be levied on the contractors for failing to remove the desilted muck at timely intervals. In fact, the contractors responsible for removing muck from the R-Ward have been penalised Rs 20,000 for having neglected their duties.
Messed up
The desilting drive began on April 25 this year. In the first 25 days of the desilting drive, only 1,52,830 cubic metres of silt was dredged up from gutters on the streets. It appears that the BMC is struggling to honour its promise of removing 4,45, 611 cubic meters of silt by May 31, 2011.
The Other Side
Speaking to MiD DAY, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of the K-West ward, Ramesh Pawar said, "We are looking into the complaints. Contractors have been appointed to remove the dredged up silt. We are hoping that it will be done soon." An official from the H-West ward said, "Most of the complaints have been pouring in from Khar and Santacruz. A lot of the desilted waste is lying exposed in roads in the area." Sunil Railkar, deputy chief engineer, storm water drain department, said, "We do penalise the contractors for failing to pick up silt from the roads. They are given a buffer period of 48 hours, within which the silt must be removed."
He further added, "Though the desilting process began quite late this year, the BMC is sure of completing it before the advent of the monsoon. We have only two dumping grounds in which to offload silt, as a result of which both are getting saturated with silt. We hope the Airport Authority of India does not object to the height of the garbage mound in the dumps. All these factors notwithstanding, we will u00a0desilt all the nullahs this u00a0year."
The Standing Committee Chief of the Eastern Suburbs said, "The desilting work has to be completed by May 31, However, we have instructed the contractors to remove the muck within 48 hours of the cleaning work."
Health hazard
These roads are not only an eyesore, but are also posing increasing health hazards to commuters and residents. Dr Bhaskar Shetty said, "The muck consists of all kinds of disposed waste objects. If it is left exposed on the roads, it is sure to spread infections. In fact, it acts as a breeding ground for larvae of different insects. The conditions on the roads are extremely unsanitary, as the waste can contaminate the ground water, spreading diseases like leptospirosis, malaria, hepatitis, dengue, jaundice and typhoid. The waste attracts fleas, rodents and canines, who spread the u00a0muck all over the road, spreading infection in the process."
Slime destination
Silt from the minor and major nullahs are offloaded at the Mulund and Deonar dumping grounds respectively.
1,200 Number of trucks usually used u00a0to offload silt
3,500 Number of trucks being used during the drive
Did you know?
Mumbai's major and minor nullahs extend over a distance of 200 kms and 129 kms respectively. The road side drains collectively measure 1,986 kms.
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