Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Sewage to be recycled to water Kalwa nature park
THANE: The social forestry department of the district will recycle the nullah water and use it for gardening the Dr Salim Ali Nature Park adjoining Kalwa creek.
It has set up a plant on the garden to recycle the water from the Rabodi nullah.
The city is facing one of its worst water crisis this year. This has not only affected residents but also the green cover in the city as most residential complex have stopped watering trees due to water shortage.
An officer from the department said, “The nullah water is subjected to high and low tides twice during the day. After the tidal influx, we pump the nullah water into a sewage treatment plant set up in the garden. The plant recycles one lakh litres of water per day which is sufficient for gardening the park.”
The department has entered into a tripartite agreement with the Government of India and a private agency to implement the project.
He added, “The recycling ensures that the less sewage water reaches the creek, keeping it clean and also the garden will be self sufficient. The University of Mumbai has done a similar experiment and uses sewage water for its green cover in their Kalina campus.”
The civic authority had developed the nature park on 14 hectare of space and this is the biggest nature park in the city.
Hundreds of people come to this park to jog or take a walk or simply to enjoy nature.
The land was earlier barren and used as a dumping ground by the municipal corporation. The park was developed to protect the mangrove zone from turning into a dump yard.
It was recently seized by the government, claiming that the land comes under coastal regulation zone (CRZ) and belongs to them.
The maintenance of the park is now carried out by the district.