The Times of India 09.04.2013
Civic body has no plans to revive water filtration plant
NASHIK: Despite being at the receiving end over Godavari pollution, the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has failed to revive the filtration plant at Ramkund and is undecided about it.
The water treatment plant was installed at Ramkund on the banks of Godavari during the last Simhastha Kumbh mela in 2003-04 to help clean the water of pollutants. The machine now gathers dust at the filtration plant on Dindori Road and civic officials of the NMC's mechanical department say that there are no plans to restart it.
The treatment plant was installed taking into consideration the amount of puja material and other things that would be thrown into the river during Kumbh, but the unit was packed and transported to the NMC's filtration plant at Dindori Road after a couple of years.
Now with an NGO dragging the NMC to court over river pollution, the civic body has filed an affidavit on what it would do to clean the river. But officials are not sure if they would use the treatment plant, despite the fact that the ensuing Kumbh mela would demand extra effort to keep the river clean.
When contacted, municipal commissioner Sanjay Khandare said, "We will have to judge the feasibility. We are not ruling out the option of using it during the Kumbh. We will decide as per the requirement."
An engineer of the NMC's mechanical department said that the machinery had been dismantled and shifted to the filtration plant on Dindori Road so that the parts would be safe. "The unit was used for a couple of years after installation but it was not effective. It used to get jammed," he said.
A senior engineer of the mechanical department added that people throw rice, earthen or flour-based lamps, flowers and other items in the river that chokes up the pipes and the machine and the pipes had to be cleaned frequently.
It may be recalled that about six months ago, a central government agency - the Tourism Finance Corporation of India - had submitted a survey report revealing that the water in Godavari was not only unfit for drinking but also unfit for bathing. Subsequently, in February the Bombay High Court, acting on a PIL filed by an NGO, the Godavari Gatarikaran Virodhi Manch, had ordered the NMC to put up warning boards about the river being polluted.
The water treatment plant was installed at Ramkund on the banks of Godavari during the last Simhastha Kumbh mela in 2003-04 to help clean the water of pollutants. The machine now gathers dust at the filtration plant on Dindori Road and civic officials of the NMC's mechanical department say that there are no plans to restart it.
The treatment plant was installed taking into consideration the amount of puja material and other things that would be thrown into the river during Kumbh, but the unit was packed and transported to the NMC's filtration plant at Dindori Road after a couple of years.
Now with an NGO dragging the NMC to court over river pollution, the civic body has filed an affidavit on what it would do to clean the river. But officials are not sure if they would use the treatment plant, despite the fact that the ensuing Kumbh mela would demand extra effort to keep the river clean.
When contacted, municipal commissioner Sanjay Khandare said, "We will have to judge the feasibility. We are not ruling out the option of using it during the Kumbh. We will decide as per the requirement."
An engineer of the NMC's mechanical department said that the machinery had been dismantled and shifted to the filtration plant on Dindori Road so that the parts would be safe. "The unit was used for a couple of years after installation but it was not effective. It used to get jammed," he said.
A senior engineer of the mechanical department added that people throw rice, earthen or flour-based lamps, flowers and other items in the river that chokes up the pipes and the machine and the pipes had to be cleaned frequently.
It may be recalled that about six months ago, a central government agency - the Tourism Finance Corporation of India - had submitted a survey report revealing that the water in Godavari was not only unfit for drinking but also unfit for bathing. Subsequently, in February the Bombay High Court, acting on a PIL filed by an NGO, the Godavari Gatarikaran Virodhi Manch, had ordered the NMC to put up warning boards about the river being polluted.
