A large number of dead fish was found floating in Mula river near the Balewadi-Baner area
“STPs treat barely 50% of the wastewater, while the rest ends up in the river. A pilot could be launched on the Mutha in 15 months,” he said. Because dissolved oxygen levels in the river had fallen below 5%, engineer-turned-botanist and environmentalist Shrikant Ingalhalikar said fish were dying. “Fish die every summer due to a lack of fresh water, which allows sewage to become more concentrated. Because there has been no rain, so no surface run-off and the dams have shut their gates, cutting off fresh water to the river,” he said, but this is happening during the monsoon. Because the fish that died are particularly sensitive to oxygen levels, “Prima facie, it appears to be a lack of fresh water in the rivers,.
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They said Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations, as well as Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), have made no visible effort to investigate the cause, identify those responsible or address the pollution. The activists said the incident was particularly worrisome as it occurred towards the end of the monsoon, when the water levels in the rivers are not as low as in summers. Prajakta Mahajan of Pune River Revival said multiple emails to MPCB, PMC and PCMC officials went unanswered. “In some responses, a Pune MPCB official said this comes under PCMC’s jurisdiction and sent them the complaints. How many more such incidents before they take action?” she said. He said silt had accumulated on the riverbed, reducing its water-holding capacity, while untreated sewage from PMC and PCMC continued to flow into the river. There is no overnight solution, as STPs take time to build and proposed facilities are struggling to find space along the river,” he said. With no rain, they must release fresh water to restore oxygen levels and save aquatic life,” he said. Manchak Jadhav, sub-regional officer, MPCB, said they have sent water samples for testing and expect the report by Monday. We are awaiting the laboratory report, after which appropriate action will be taken,” said Jadhav. Madhav Jagtap, head of PMC’s environment department, said he had yet to receive a complaint on this issue, but said he would tell his staff to look into it.
Pune: Activists have alleged that there has been little official action even a week after dead fish appeared in Mula river near Baner and Indrayani near Alandi. They were of the opinion that with such incidents occurring every monsoon, the authorities have become lax. Hundreds of fish have died across rivers and the authorities are not doing anything about it. With no fresh water flowing in, the remaining water is heavily contaminated with sewage. “Dams must be mandated to release environmental flows to sustain river flora and fauna. We have in previous instances written to the irrigation dept to release water but they have not — to conserve water. We have not written to them this year. “Work on setting up STPs is ongoing, and we hope some of them will come up by Dec. We are also looking at building localised river-cleaning infrastructure such as aerating fountains powered by solar energy, trash barriers etc. TOI’s calls and messages to PCMC’s environment department head were awaiting response till the time of going to press. Download the TOI App.