E-Paper
Oil spill detected in Pune river
People were seen using a boat paddle to move the black residue so that women could perform the rituals. Volunteers of Jeevitnadi who were present on the spot raised an alarm about the issue
On the evening of Chhath puja celebrations in the city on Tuesday, several people who were performing rituals on the ghats near Mula river in Aundh were taken by surprise to see a thick layer of black oil on the surface of the river.
People were seen using a boat paddle to move the black residue so that women could perform the rituals. Volunteers of Jeevitnadi who were present on the spot raised an alarm about the issue.
“The oil spill had covered the surface of the river. When I dipped a stick in the water it was full of thick black oil. The oil layer was so thick that the people who wanted to give ‘arghya’ in river water were cleaning it with paddle of fishermen’s boat to remove the oil,” said Shaileja Deshpande, founder member of NGO, Jeevitnadi.
A group of these volunteers noticed the spill coming from Pimpale Nilakh and going down towards the cremation ground. “We had observed similar oil spill last year too but it was not that as thick as this one,” she added.
The volunteers conducted a check with the Pune municipal corporation (PMC) but did not find anything unusual while walking along the banks, but they could cross on to the other side of the river as it is restricted due to military zone and due to thick vegetation.
Ganesh Kalapure, a resident of Aundhgaon was shocked to see the black greasy cover over the river. “For the first time I saw the river covered with such a black mass of oil floating over it. So I called the PMC ward office and the officials said they will check it.”
Rohan Ranawade, also a resident of Aundh who was present to witness the puja rituals was surprised to see the river covered with black oil. “Initially I thought it was a school of fish but when it was not moving I was a little alarmed.”
