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.