MNS protest exposes TMC’s apathy towards nullah clean up

The nullah is in such bad state that one cannot walk nearby it. Every year it is the same story. There is no action taken by the civic body even as it claims to keep the city clean by spending crores of rupees. Most of the nullahs in Thane city are unclean and full of plastic waste

Thane

MNS party workers threatened to dump the waste accumulated in a nullah at Kapurbawdi at TMC headquarters if not cleared. The party workers staged a protest entering into the nullah with placards on Monday ,in Thane, in Mumbai, India, on,Monday, March, 27, 2023. (Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

Irked by the bad state of a nullah covered with waste for at least 100 to 150 meters, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party workers entered the nullah to protest the civic body’s failure to keep the nullah clean ahead of the monsoon.

The protestors holding placards against the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) blamed the civic body for not cleaning the nullah. The nullah at Kapurbawdi locality is completely covered with waste with no water visible.

The protestors also threatened to soon lift the waste from the nullah and dump it at the TMC headquarters, if the civic body does not clean it at the earliest.

“The nullah is in such bad state that one cannot walk nearby it. Every year it is the same story. There is no action taken by the civic body even as it claims to keep the city clean by spending crores of rupees. Most of the nullahs in Thane city are unclean and full of plastic waste. We have decided to lift the waste from this nullah and simply dump it at TMC headquarter so that the officials know what pain the residents undergo because of their apathy,” said Swapnil Mahindrakar, head of law and welfare cell of the Thane Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

The group of protestors mocking the TMC wrote catchy messages on the placards displayed during the protest.

“The civic body is spending crores of money for cleanliness and solid waste management. Where is this money going? If they have such huge funds to spend, why is there no change in the situation. There is a need to have a strict approach, which is lacking,” he added.

“In the new budget, the civic body has proposed a fund of approximately ₹85 crore to make Thane city garbage-free under the initiative of Swachh Thane. Also, a fund of ₹23 crore has been proposed for setting up a transfer centre. On behalf of the TMC, crores of rupees are spent every year only on solid waste department projects. Also, funds have been proposed to make Thane city waste-free every year. But there is no proper implementation,” he added.

An officer from TMC, solid waste management department who did not wish to be named, said,”We will look into the cleaning of the nullah at the earliest without delay.”