Foam in Indrayani river worries Alandi residents

Residents from Alandi have raised an alarm as a huge amount of foam has been noticed in the Indrayani river since Sunday.
On February 1 the same foam formation was noticed in the Pavana river at the Keju Devi temple boat club and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) sent the water samples for testing.
“We have not received any complaints, but the pictures are very dangerous. We will look into the matter,” said an official from MPCB on request of anonymity.
On Tuesday, a thick layer of foam was noticed in the temple town. Residents blamed industrial units from Pimpri-Chinchwad for releasing waste, while untreated sewage waste is also released into the river.
“Every year we face this issue, but there is no concrete solution by MPCB so far. In the past few occasions incidents of fish dying have also occurred,” said Suresh Kali, who was taking pictures when HT visited the spot.
The Indrayani river originates in the Western ghats near Lonavala, passes through Kamshet, Dehu, Pimpri- Chinchwad and Alandi, and later meets the Bhima river at Talapur in Shirur tehsil.
“Many residents have a habit of using the Indrayani river water for drinking purposes which we keep on telling them not to, as water pollution is happening at the regular intervals in the river,” added Kali.
MPCB claimed it was sending officials to the river on Tuesday evening.
“Unless strict action is not taken against industries who discharge waste in the river, the pollution issue will not be sorted. PCMC and MPCB need to come out with strict measures, which have not happened till now,” said Prashant Raul, an environmentalist from PCMC.
-
Shutdown in parts of Srinagar on Hurriyat’s call
A partial shutdown was observed in parts of Srinagar on Saturday on the call of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on the death anniversaries of his father Molvi Mohammad Farooq and senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone. Another local said commercial activities were also suspended in Khanyar, Fatah Kadal, Habba Kadal and Bohri Kadal areas.
-
Four IPS officers reshuffled in HP
Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday reshuffled four Indian Police Services officers. A 2003-batch IPS officer, PD Prasad, has been posted as inspector general of southern range in superannuation of Himanshu Mishra. Rameshwar Singh Thakur, IG, state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau, has been posted as the IG CID (intelligence). HP principal secretary, health, Subashish Panda said allied health professionals play an important role and the state government would be soon implementing the same.
-
Vaishno Devi shrine’s head priest dies at 85
The head priest of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, Pandit Amir Chand, passed away at his residence in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Saturday morning, officials said. Pandit Chand belonged to the family of Pandit Shridhar, who believed to have discovered the three-peaked cave shrine in Trikuta Hills some 700 years ago. “The mortal remains of the priest were consigned to flames at Banganga later in the day,” said a police officer.
-
No one will be allowed to create disturbances in J&K: LG
J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday said terrorism is the gravest threat to peace and prosperity and no one will be allowed to create disturbances in UT. Sinha administered the 'Anti-Terrorism Pledge' to senior officials, DCs and SSPs at Raj Bhawan to mark the observance of Anti-Terrorism Day. “I reaffirm our strong commitment to uphold peace and harmony and to defeat the forces of disruption threatening human lives,” he said.
-
Tourism boom in J&K due to scorching heat, not any better situation here: Azad
Veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday said the current tourism boom in Jammu and Kashmir is due to the rising temperature in the rest of the country and not because of any improved situation in the UT. Azad made the assertion, reiterating his stand on the Delimitation Commission report, saying that “the tailor-made report is in contradiction with the ground realities”. He is scheduled to return to Srinagar on Sunday.