NMC begins month-long drive to clean three rivers

Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started its most popular drive to clean three rivers — Nag, Pili and Pora. The month-long drive aims to conserve the rivers that have turned into nullahs due to release of untreated sewage water. By clearing the riverbeds, the civic body also wants to prevent floods during monsoon and prepare the stretches for the proposed rejuvenation and beautification projects worth Rs2,852 crore.
Municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar along with NMC officials apart from various government and private agencies have been roped in for the drive to be conducted from May 5 to June 5.
Mayor Nanda Jichkar launched the drive at Pora river on Sunday morning. Later, the drive on Nag river was inaugurated by activist Kaustav Chatterjee and on Pili river by additional municipal commissioner Ravindra Thakre.
In response to NMC’s appeal for public participation in the drive, Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT), MahaMetro, WCL, state PWD, WRD, OCW, Vishwaraj Infrastructure Limited, CREDAI, NMC Contractors Association and Haldiram Foods have assured to provide required machinery.
The NIT has started cleaning Nag river from the confluence of Nag and Pili rivers at Punapur and beyond.
NMC chief engineer Ulhas Debadwar, additional commissioners Thakre, Ram Joshi, Aziz Sheikh and health officer Dr Pradip Dasarwar have chalked out a month-long plan.
Dasarwar said 13 machines will be deployed to clean the three rivers. “Six machines will be engaged in Nag river, four in Pili river and three in Pora. Sanitary workers have been deployed to clean shrubs on the river banks. Government and private agencies will also provide tippers through which silt removed from the riverbed will be disposed off in low lying areas,” he said.
During the drive, 48km-long stretches of the three rivers will be cleaned.
The NMC has given the responsibility of cleaning Nag river’s stretch from Pardi to Punapur to Smart City special purpose vehicle NSSCDCL. The stretch also falls under the proposed Smart City project.
Apart from the rivers, the NMC has also started cleaning nullahs situated across the city. Over 265 nullahs have been identified in the city of which the NMC plans to clean as much as possible before monsoon.
Following TOI-MT’s Save Nag river - My City, My River campaign in 2013, the then mayor Anil Sole, now MLC, had started an awareness and cleaning drive. Barring one year, the drive has been conducted every year.