‘Other agencies’ holding up nullah cleaning operations, says Uddhav

Lack of coordination between the various civic agencies in Mumbai is holding up nullah cleaning and desilting work, alleged Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday.

Lack of coordination between the various civic agencies in Mumbai is holding up nullah cleaning and desilting work, alleged Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday.

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Thackeray was inspecting nullah cleaning work in the suburbs when he hinted that the civic body may not be able to complete the work in time for monsoon. "There is lack of coordination between various agencies," Thackeray said. "Certain nullahs pass through properties owned by defence, railways, MMRDA etc. These agencies are not cooperating with the civic body in nullah widening and cleaning work." He also blamed encroachments as hurdles in nullah widening.

The Sena leader's statements are in contrast with his assurance to citizens last week, where he asked Mumbaiites to enjoy rains without worrying about water-logging. On Wednesday, Thackeray also targeted chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for not taking an initiative in solving Mumbai's problems. Thackeray said that as the leader of the state, Chavan should have arranged a coordination meeting between the various agencies. Thackeray’s remarks come a few days after Mayor Sunil Prabhu wrote to Chavan asking him to arrange a coordination meeting between the officers of all agencies to make nullah cleaning work easier and effective.

Civic officials said that around 60-70% nullah cleaning work has been completed so far. Laxman Vhatkar, chief engineer for stormwater drains, however, maintained that the BMC would complete its nullah cleaning work before May 31.