Spot Check: Can BMC Meet Monsoon Deadline for Desilting Nullahs?

Drains clogged with trash and muck. Can BMC meet its monsoon desilting deadline? The Quint checks out 5 nullahs.

Slum dwellers sit next to a nullah in Mumbai’s Wadala area.

(Photo: The Quint)

Camera: Gautam Sharma
Editor: Ashish MacCune

The monsoons are set to arrive in Mumbai on 7 June but the BMC has only cleaned about 35 per cent of silt from nullahs and storm water drains across the city. The Quint visited five spots across Mumbai to find out if the civic body has managed to make much progress. However, it seems the BMC has a long way to go in order to meet its monsoon deadline.

According to data released by the civic body, till 30 April, the BMC has managed to clean only 1.48 lakh metric tonnes of silt from major nullahs. The civic body had set a target to clear 3.34 lakh metric tonnes of silt from these nullahs by 31 May. The Mithi river is included in this category.

In the case of Mithi river, the BMC was supposed to remove 90,426 metric tons of silt but have managed to clear 44,946 metric tonnes till 30 April.

In the case of minor nullahs, the BMC is supposed to remove over 2 lakh metric tonnes of silt but has managed to remove only 41,925 metric tonnes till 30 April.

The Quint visited the Mithi river and nullahs in areas like Wadala, Eastern Freeway, Mankhurd and Govandi. All the drains were clogged with materials like plastic, scraps of cloth, glass and tyres among other waste.

“The Mumbai Mayor gives a contract to people who barely clean the place for the sake of it but actually pay no attention. For three days now, the garbage has been piling up here. It’s not even being cleaned. Because of this garbage, people suffer from Dengue, Malaria and other diseases. I live next door, flies from here come and sit on our children. This affects our health.”

Parmesh Devenrao, Resident