Water canals passing through Pune are garbage dumping sites now

PUNE: It is not just the Mutha river flowing through the city that has become filthy. The irrigation canals passing through various parts of the city too have become garbage dumping sites.


Suresh Salunke, a resident of Sasanenagar who often takes a canal bridge to reach Hadapsar’s goathan area, said he has never found the canal clean. “The canal is full of garbage and plastic. It looks as if it is a garbage dumping site. Commuters have to deal with bad odour and dirt while crossing the bridge. A fence has been put up along the canal but garbage dumping has continued,” said Salunke.

Residents in the area said Sasanenagar and Hadapsar are not the only places where the canal is full of garbage. A portion of the canal near the main highway is also in a bad shape. Local shopkeepers and residents complained they have hardly seen any cleaning activity taken up by the authorities.

Vishal Satav, an autorickshaw driver, said there are three water canals flowing through Hadapsar and adjacent areas and status of every canal is the same. Of these, the Baby canal has been in a pathetic condition at many places. This is because the canal does not get water regularly and when it is empty, it turns into a dumping site. For many days, the canal has not been cleaned, Satav added.

Ajay Jadhav, who runs a small shop near the Hadapsar goathan, said it has been many years since he has seen clean water in the canal. “If the canal is not much in use then why don’t the authorities close it completely? The situation will become worse during monsoon as the dumped garbage will get wet and will cause diseases. There should a policy to keep the water bodies like canal and rivers clean and ensure that no garbage is dumped,” Jadhav said.

Local corporator Yogesh Sasane admitted that the canals were in a pathetic condition and said that the irrigation department and civic administration need to find a joint solution to keep the canals clean. “The canal is the responsibility of the irrigation department, but it is sad that the department is not initiating steps for proper maintenance. It is learnt that irrigation department wants the civic administration to maintain the water bodies as they are flowing through the city,” Sasane said.