Mumbai: Locals, civic body spar over desilting again

The BMC began cleaning the Mithi river before the monsoon, in April. Pic /Pradeep Dhivar

With the monsoon just a couple of weeks away, the civic body is rushing to complete the de-silting of the nullahs and roadside drains in the city, and mounds of silt left out on the roads is a common sight. Various posts on social media have complained that the accumulated silt can be a health hazard and have appealed to the civic body to have it removed.

The Mumbai North Central District Forum for instance, tweeted asking the H East ward office to have the silt waste removed from Bandra Kurla Complex.

Residents also pointed out that with the pre-monsoon showers expected within a week, the silt will flow back into the roadside nullahs which may lead to waterlogging at a later stage. Another post put out by a resident of 10th Road, Khar shared similar concerns and added that the mounds of silt are making the area unhygienic.

Ashok Khairnar, assistant municipal commissioner of H East ward said that the silt has to be left for a couple of days so that it can dry.

"If we try to transport the wet silt, it will leak out of the vehicle and damage the roads. We have already started picking up the silt that has dried. Around 450 staffers are working on the drains and we will finish the work by June 4," he said.

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