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KMC starts constructing bunds at the nullahs, treating facility at bund site

Friday, 01 November 2013 08:54 administrator
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The Times of India              01.11.2013 

KMC starts constructing bunds at the nullahs, treating facility at bund site

KOLHAPUR: The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC), taking cognizance of directions by the Bombay high court over the issue related to the pollution of the Panchaganga, has started constructing porous rock bunds on the major nullahs for primary treatment of sewage as short-term measures.

The ToI had on October 8 reported that sewage was flowing into the river water without being treated as the lifting pumps at the Jayanthi nullah were not functional.

The rock bunds are being constructed on Rajhans nullah, Ramanmala nullah, Rajaram bridge nullah, Line Bazaar nullah and Jamdar Club nullah. These are restricting the sewage water to flow into the river and are filtering the sewage through these porous bunds. The facility for chlorination of the restricted water using bleaching powder has been installed at the bund sites.

KMC environment engineer R K Patil said, "The rock bunds are constructed at two places on these nullahs at the portion close to the river stream. The bunds decrease the sediment content of the sewage and the speed in which the waste flows into the river."

There are 12 major and minor nullahs flowing through the city. "We will construct such bunds on the other nullahs as a short-term measure to curb the river pollution. The employees from the sanitation department have been deployed at the bunds for frequent removal of the sediments," added Patil.

The high court, while hearing the case of a petition filed by the people from the Ichalkaranji situated at the downstream of the river stretch had directed the KMC to take the immediate steps to stop the sewage entering the river.

Labour leader Datta Mane, Sada Malabade and eight others had filed a PIL (number 183/2012) demanding action to clean up the river and award compensation to those who were diagnosed with jaundice in 2012 in Ichalkaranji. The water-borne disease was caused due to the pollution in the river.

The ToI had reported that due to the non-functioning of the lifting pumps at the Jayanthi and other nullahs, untreated water was directly discharged into the river posing danger to the lives of people living in the downstream villages.

"We have also started construction of pumping houses at Jayanthi nullah, Bapat Camp nullah and Dudhali nullah to lift sewage to the new sewage treatment plants at Kasba Bawda and Dudhali. The facilities will become fully functional by April next year," Patil said.

 

High court to Aminabad vendors: Follow Lucknow Municipal Corporation guidelines

Friday, 01 November 2013 08:53 administrator
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The Times of India              01.11.2013 

High court to Aminabad vendors: Follow Lucknow Municipal Corporation guidelines

LUCKNOW: The high court on Thursday took up the petition related to encroachments on Aminabad streets and instructed vendors to follow strictly the Lucknow Municipal Corporation guidelines on encroachments and traffic in the area.

The court further deferred the hearing till November 6 (after Diwali) and has meanwhile asked all the vendors and encroachers to adhere to the yellow lines on certain roads of Aminabad.

The ones which flocked around roads have been asked to limit their trading activities to the yellow lines. Certain permanent shopkeepers of Aminabad had earlier filed a petition that vendors had encroached roads and footpath in Aminabad, leaving no space for movement.

The high court had directed the administration to clear the market of vendors and relocate them to another place. It had asked the LMC to present a report before it on the current situation and what measures it has taken after the court orders.

The vendors evicted had sought extension of yellow lines to other areas of Aminabad too like the road going towards Ganeshganj, road towards Nazirabad in front of the tempo stand and the lane in front of a famous kulfi vendor in Aminabad.

The yellow lines were made as part of the local policy to limit vending activities within the boundary. So far, the lines existed only on the main roads of the market, which were unable to accommodate all the vendors.

Hence, the vendors requested LMC authorities to paint these lines on other roads too to help them earn around festival time.

The authorities had sought opinion from the SP Traffic and SP (West) as to what would be the effect on traffic situation after making yellow lines on these roads and allowing vendors to trade here. The vendors made a similar plea before the HC too, which got rejected. The court has asked the LMC officials to ensure that area remain encroachment-free till the next hearing. Accordingly, the zonal officer and tax superintendant of LMC inspected area on Thursday to prevent further encroachment.

 

NMC set to recarpet Central Avenue

Friday, 01 November 2013 08:51 administrator
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The Times of India              01.11.2013

NMC set to recarpet Central Avenue

NAGPUR: The city's busy commercial district, Central Avenue, is also known for rampant violation of traffic rules and poor roads. One is the reasons for this is Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) decade-long neglect of road maintenance in the 9km stretch from Mayo Hospital Square to Prajapati Square connecting Ring Road.

Now, the civic administration has finally decided to relay the entire stretch. A senior civic official told TOI that the road was last tarred during the Integrated Road Development Project in early 2000. As the quality of work was good, the road lasted for over half a decade. But in the recent past, the condition of both sides of the road started deteriorating, with motorists suffering bumpy rides.

Mahesh Kulkarni, a resident of Gandhibagh, said, "When citizens are suffering due to bad roads, the civic body is wasting tax payers' money to suit their whims and fancies. The ruling party has no control over the administration, which does not appear to be serious about the city's development."

The civic body's apathy can be gauged from the fact that the then standing committee chairman Dayashankar Tiwari had on February 18 this year approved the civic administration's Rs 6.04 crore proposal for tarring this road. Even municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane gave his nod for the works on February 26, but nothing has moved since then.

Sources, however, said that due to financial crisis the civic administration delayed the recarpeting work of the stretch.

Now, the proposal will again come up before standing committee chairman Avinash Thakre for his nod in a meeting on Friday. Sources said this time the civic administration has made some changes to the proposal. As NMC's hotmix department is flooded with tarring works, it plans to rope in Nagpur Improvement Trust's hotmix plant for the tarring of Central Avenue. The money will be paid to NIT through internal book adjustment between both civic agencies, said a senior official. NIT will start the work after Diwali, the proposal states.

Apart from this road proposal, the civic administration will also table proposals to tar 35 other roads at a cost of Rs 11.86 crore. Welcoming the civic administration's decision to recarpet roads, motorists said now NMC should ensure quality works.

 
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