Mumbai: BJP's ex-corporators hit out at BMC's claim of 105 per cent desilting of nullahs

The Wallbhat river is also full of silt

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not happy with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) claim of 105 per cent desilting of nullahs. BJP's former corporators said the claim was based on an online number but the ground reality is different. Last year civic commissioner IS Chahal made the same claim but the flood situation continued in the city. The BJP's former corporators fear the same situation. Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu has said the BMC has completed 105 per cent of desilting work on nullahs and 98 per cent on the Mithi river.

A nullah full of filth at Mulund west

Prakash Gangadhare, BJP's former corporator of Mulund West said, " I will show the municipal commissioner the truth of desilting. He is making a claim just sitting in the office. There is a lot of work remaining in Mulund and the BMC claims 105 per cent work is done. There is silt in every nullah of Mulund. This year people will face waterlogging," Gangadhare said. "Even the repairs of drains are still on. When will this work be complete? People ask us if they will face waterlogging, not the administration officials who sit in offices and throw numbers," he added.

Another former corporator from the BJP, who represented Goregaon's Gokuldham and part of Aarey, said not more than 40 per cent of desilting work has been done. "The Wallbhat river flows through my ward and it is still full of silt. Every year this area faces waterlogging. Santosh Nagar is always under water during monsoon. Every year residents face financial loss due to waterlogging. This year will not be different. I met BMC officials but they don't have a concrete solution," she said.

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Vileparle East faces the same problem, said former corporator Abhijit Samant. "Not a single drain or nullah has been fully cleaned in this area. How can the BMC claim 105 percent of desilting," he said. BJP office bearer advocate Gayatri Iyer also has a doubt over the BMC's claim of the cleaning of Mithi river. "I am a resident of Shikshak Nagar Kurla. This is the approach road for BMC vehicles for desilting work. I saw the BMC stop work at least two times. When I asked the contractor he said the official had asked him to stop. The BMC's claim is unbelievable," she said.