Sand contractor builds road, blocks river flow to WTP

Nagpur: A Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) contractor engaged in filling Silewara mines has allegedly stopped Kanhan river flow over the channel between Navegaon Khairi dam and Kanhan water treatment plant (WTP) by constructing a temporary road to transport sand. This has affected water supply in north, east and parts of south Nagpur as water level at Kanhan water treatment plant has further depleted.
Following objections raised by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), the WCL got the contractor raze the illegal road.
This sand mining location is only 1km from the irrigation office and exposes the casual approach of section engineer of the irrigation department at Tamaswadi. “The WCL contractor is excavating sand to fill mines in Silewara without obtaining any permission from collector Ashwin Mudgal and we have asked irrigation department to lodge an FIR against the contractor for causing damage to the river,” confirmed a senior official from Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s water works department.
“The under-construction Kochchhi barrage of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation is at 37km upstream of Kanhan WTP intake well and has completely stopped the Kanhan river flow,” the official said.
Following a request from the NMC to the district collector, the VIDC released water from Kochchhi barrage towards Kanhan river. But the move has failed to meet city’s need, an OCW official said. Explaining further, the official said some farmers of Khapa village have constructed coffer dam in the riverbed for watering their watermelon farms. Besides, many villagers residing in areas between Kochchhi barrage and Kanhan WTP are withdrawing water by using diesel pumps thus the release of water from the barrage was of no use for the civic body.
The NMC later approached irrigation department to release water from Navegaon Khairi dam for its Kanhan WTP. Subsequently, the irrigation department has released 75 cusecs of water from 19.4km right bank canal (RBC). The released water from the RBC escape gate was supposed to flow through 32km drain and river channel to reach the Kanhan intake well.
But when the water level at Kanhan river did not increase, the OCW and WWD inspected the river channel. The team found that the river flow was completely stopped by a WCL contractor. “All this was going on without obtaining any permission,” the official said.
AGM Nagpur area (WCL) DM Gokhale said following discussions with the NMC’s additional municipal commissioner Ram Joshi, the road was removed for smooth flow of water.
He also claimed that the contractor has valid permission for sand extraction. But the WCL office has refused to speak on whether action will be initiated against the contractor for constructing the road.
“Now, the river water has been released through two pipes of 600mm diameter each and by tomorrow morning, water level at Kanhan intake well is supposed to increase,” said NMC official.
To a query, the official said the OCW-NMC has already started vigilance for elimination of any kind of obstruction (trench, temporary weir or diversion) and ensure normal flow of released water on this 32km pathway to reach the Kanhan intake well.
“Even at Kanhan river, the water has been completely re-channelized towards the intake well and a temporary weir has been built to ensure no amount of river water flows downstream,” said the official.