Leftovers from festivals, polythene bags clutter river Hindon banks

Ghaziabad: The banks of the river Hindon near Arthala, adjacent to the GT Road, are strewn with leftovers, polythene material and other garbage items after the recent

Ghaziabad: The banks of the river Hindon near Arthala, adjacent to the GT Road, are strewn with leftovers, polythene material and other garbage items after the recent festivities of Dussehra and Durga Puja. The Ghaziabad municipal corporation said it will rush teams to get the area cleaned.

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The banks of Hindon, popularly known as Chhath Ghat where the annual event is held after Diwali, are lying in a dilapidated state.

“Throwing garbage in the river and at the banks has been a recurrent problem which has persisted over the years in the city. This is why we moved a petition with the National Green Tribunal in 2015, after which the tribunal had directed for a fine of ₹20,000 on anyone found dumping garbage at the river banks,” said Vikrant Sharma, a city-based environmentalist and a lawyer.

“However, despite all directions and penalty clauses in place, the authorities are not harsh on polluters. Even at daytime during the festival season, one can see people throwing puja leftovers at the banks and even inside the river. Before every Chhath Puja, the corporation has to undertake a major cleaning drive to get rid of waste material dumped before and after Diwali. There has to be a check on these things,” he added.

An HT team went to the site on Saturday and witnessed garbage strewn around, and approached MS Tanwar, the municipal commissioner.

“I have rushed a team to the spot and they will ensure that the river banks are cleaned and clutter is removed at the earliest. Action will be taken against the violators,” Tanwar said.

According to environmentalists, the dumping of garbage in the river water can further deteriorate the water quality.

“Already, the dissolved oxygen levels are very less in the waters of the Hindon and several drains empty sewage in it without treatment. Garbage dumping will further deteriorate the water quality. The polluters should be fined heavily so that they don’t turn up again near the river banks to dump puja leftovers or any other form of garbage,” said Akash Vashishtha, a city-based environmentalist.