E-Paper
Ulhas River free of hyacinth and looks clean: Thane Collector
After visiting Ulhas River, Thane Collector, Rajesh Narvekar, claimed that the river is free of water hyacinth and the water looks clean because of the cleaning work undertaken since the last one year
After visiting Ulhas River, Thane Collector, Rajesh Narvekar, claimed that the river is free of water hyacinth and the water looks clean because of the cleaning work undertaken since the last one year.
In February 2021, the Mi Kalyankar social organisation protested against the water hyacinth that had covered the entire Ulhas River due to lack of cleaning by the authorities.
“Last year, we started to protest as the river water was not visible at all due to the weeds growing on it. The authorities took heed and cleaned it,” said Nitin Nikam, founder of the organisation.
Following this protest by the organisation, the Thane Collector gave the work of clearing the water hyacinth to Neral-based foundation last year.
The foundation cleared the water hyacinth covering across 30km of the river from Badlapur to Kalyan using a chemical that was spread using a drone across the river.
Narvekar said, “I visited the lake and found that the cleaning work has rid the river of hyacinth. We have asked the agency to keep doing the work regularly.”
Although Ulhas River is now free from water hyacinth, activists from the city claim that it is not completely pollution-free. Activists who have been fighting for the river claimed there is a need to ensure that the nullah water from the cities don’t flow into the Waldhuni River and Ulhas River.
