Plastic waste flowing into sea major problem in Mumbai | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Plastic waste flowing into sea major problem in Mumbai

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByBadri Chatterjee and Snehal Fernandes
Oct 14, 2019 07:08 AM IST

The cost of this carelessness hit home during the deluge on July 26, 2005, when Mumbai was pounded with 944mm rain in one day that claimed more than 1,000 lives.

Every day, Mumbai dumps 80 – 110 metric tons (MT) of plastic waste into drains and water channels, an application submitted by environment group Vanashakti before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in December 2018 said.

Garbage from Arabian sea thrown out on the road near Badhwar Park during Hightide, in Mumbai.(Bhushan Koyande/HT)
Garbage from Arabian sea thrown out on the road near Badhwar Park during Hightide, in Mumbai.(Bhushan Koyande/HT)

The application highlights the Maharashtra government’s failure to install nets across storm water drains in Mumbai to collect waste from nullahs before they empty out into creeks, rivers or the sea. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), in a follow-up affidavit, said creeks, rivers and the sea along Mumbai’s 437.71sqkm coastal stretch is under threat with plastic waste as a major source among municipal solid waste.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

“Plastic directly enters into nullahs by the general public and slums areas. Discharge of untreated domestic waste accounts for 93% of the source of pollution for these water bodies,” read MPCB’s affidavit.

Applicants said the quantum of plastic entering drains and water channels in 2019 is much more if not the same. “The negligent attitude of Mumbaiites, especially those living near drains and creeks has resulted in massive amounts of plastic waste, majority of which is single use plastic, being dumped into the natural water courses,” said Stalin D, director, Vanashakti.

The cost of this carelessness hit home during the deluge on July 26, 2005, when Mumbai was pounded with 944mm rain in one day that claimed more than 1,000 lives.

Experts said the 2005 floods were as much a result of clogged open surface drains with solid waste including plastic, storm water drains and its channels as it was due to significant changes in land use across the city and illegal construction and encroachments along natural drains and the Mithi river.

Experts said flood peaks in urban areas are about two-eight times and flood volume is about six times when compared with the rural floods. “No city is safe from flood disasters,” said Kapil Gupta, professor, water resources engineering, department of civil engineering, Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay. “City authorities should take measures to ensure that when heavy rainfall occurs, adequate drainage systems are in place and these are unclogged so that flooding does not occur in the vulnerable areas.”

A recent analysis by the Mumbai-based Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) spanning 45 years showed that changing rainfall patterns, extensive concretisation, open drains along roads choked with plastic and other waste together with more-than-a-century-old storm water drain system has led to an increase in the quantum of rain water turning into run-off, thereby causing frequent inundation in Mumbai. The team found that the city’s existing storm water drain system – it can handle only 25mm rain per hour – is unable to carry the increase in rain water discharge from 3,207 cubic meter per second in 1973 (cu.m/sec) to 4465cu.m/sec last year.

Darshan Sansare, principal investigator and research scholar, VJTI said of the total 186 outfalls in Mumbai, 135 are above mean sea level but below the high tide level, 46 outfalls below mean sea level, and 2,000km roadside open drain system that are mostly clogged with plastic and waste. Only 6 outfalls are above high tide level. “Flash floods and high tides therefore cause most of the outfalls to submerge under the sea water leaving it useless for disposal of city water,” he said.

Of the 186 outfalls, there are
85 major outfalls in city which drain sewage mixed with plastic to Arabian Sea directly, eight at Mahim creek and 12 at Mahul creek.

There are 29 outfalls in western suburbs draining directly into sea while 14 drain into Mithi river which ultimately joins Mahim creek. In eastern suburbs, 14 outfalls discharge in Thane creek while six discharge in Mahul creek and 8 into Mahim creek. VH Khandkar, former chief engineer, storm water drains (SWD) department of the Brihnamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had installed trash booms (like nets with thin meshes installed at the mouth of creeks to stop solid waste) across.

Unveiling 'Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Lok Sabha Election 2024 Date Live, Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On