Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
Ex-KDMC corporator’s strike at Ulhas river enters ninth day
A former corporator of Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) Nitin Nikam is on an indifinite strike at the Ulhas river for the past nine days. But, the civic officials have not bothered to look into his demands.
“I will continue protesting till there is a result. None of the officials have met me to discuss my demands,” said Nikam.
Every morning, Nikam has been taking a boat on Ulhas river at 7am and sits there to protest. He leaves the place in the evening.
Nikam’s demands for the KDMC are to clean Ulhas river which provides drinking water to KDMC residents. He started his strike on March 2.
“I had warned the civic body about my plan to protest at the river and had given them a time of 15 days. Since the civic body have not initiated with any action, I started the protest,” said Nikam.
In his recent visit to the river in February, Nikam found that green weeds have covered the water near the Mohane pumping station which lifts water to be supplied to the residents.
“Unless the river is cleaned and maintained, how can we expect to get adequate amount from there. Garbage is also dumped into the river. Some areas have leakages which allows water to flow to other direction. The civic body should ensure that the weeds are cleared regularly,” said Nikam.
The KDMC lifts 285 mld of water from Ulhas river. The river enters the Thane and Raigad districts of Maharastra between Kulgaon-Badlapur towards the north of Ulhasnagar and then flows towards Kalyan.
The river turns towards Thane and a channel connects it to the Thane creek.
The river is polluted due to the industrial effluents discharged into it.
“I have been a corporator of Kalyan east and since the area is the most affected, it is my responsibility to ensure that the river is cleaned and the area gets water supply,” said Nikam.
KDMC commissioner E Ravendiran said: “We have taken steps to address these issues. We are considering cleaning water hyacinth and are also coordinating with the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation to divert effluents into downstream.”