Frustrated Kandivli residents express doubts about civic body’s promise to desilt drain by June 7; the Poisar river is one of the eight locations where trash booms
The Poisar nullah in Kandivli on May 30. Pics/Nimesh Dave
Kandivli residents are frustrated about the state of the Poisar nullah, which is choked with garbage and debris even as May draws to a close. The state government has set June 7 as the deadline for cleaning nullahs across the city, but Kandivli residents say it may not be possible to desilt the Poisar nullah, which is approximately 11 km long, by this date.
Interestingly, the Poisar river is one of the eight locations where trash booms — which collect floating waste and transfer it to bins or collection vans — have been installed. “We do not understand why this advanced machinery was installed. Despite it, the nullah has never been clean,” said Bharti Nagarkar, a resident of Thakur Village.
Residents’ allegations
Amid the BMC’s annual desilting drive, locals claim that only superficial efforts have been made this year, with garbage being pushed deeper into the nullah rather than being removed altogether. “We have seen the authorities bring excavators and other big machines. They collect the garbage that floats on the surface of the nullah, andthe rest they push deeper and deeper. And so, whenever it rains heavily, all the suppressed garbage comes up and the nullah gets choked again,” said Sheetal Zaveri, another Kandivli resident.
An excavator is used to unclog the nullah. Residents claim these machines manage to collect only the trash that floats on the water body’s surface while pushing the rest underwater
Another resident, who identified herself only as Mrs D’Souza, said, “They say they have cleaned the nullah. And on the surface, it does look clean. Once in a while, corporators come, call us, show that they have brought in excavators to clean the nullah, take a photo with a few residents and vanish. The excavator just lies there for a few days. They collect some garbage, fill two or three trucks and go away. But the nullah is never cleaned to the fullest, and so every year, water enters our buildings. Sometimes, it is up to our knees or even higher. We have to park our vehicles away from our residences every year during the monsoon. As they do not clean the nullah properly every year, buildings, including Accord Apartments, Radhakrishna Cooperate Housing Society Limited, Shivshankar Mandir, St Joseph School and Assumption Church, are affected badly.” Calls to R South ward officials went unanswered by press time.
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