NAGPUR: Realizing its
responsibilities, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has announced a
15-day ‘Save Nag River’ campaign commencing from May 1, Maharashtra Day.
Mayor Anil Sole convened a meeting of all party group leaders on
Tuesday and managed to get support from everyone to make the campaign a
grand success. Meanwhile, the civic body kicked off the activities by
serving notices to around 150 households for discharging sewage into the
river, and also commenced cleaning of the riverbed.

Sole told
TOI the campaign aims to clean and conserve the river, but the main
motive will be to garner public participation for the cause of city’s
iconic river. After inaugurating TOI-MT’s Save Nag River – My City, My
River campaign on the eve of Holi, Sole had taken a pledge to make all
efforts to ensure Nag River gets back its lost glory.

During
the group leaders’ meeting, Sole said a good environment has been
created in the city for cleaning up the Nag River. “NMC will undertake a
campaign from May 1 to 15, taking advantage of the positive response
towards the river. All sewage inlets should be plugged and diverted to
underground sewage network. The health department should start serving
notices to encroachers and also households discharging sewage into the
River. At the same time, officials should also ensure proper homework to
prevent any new dispute. Works should be taken up by NMC if the sewage lines are far from households along the River,” he said.

Sole has also convened a meeting of corporators from all five zones
through which the river passes, to guide them about the campaign and
public participation. The meeting will be held on Wednesday at Town
Hall.

Deputy director (health) Dr Milind Ganvir told TOI
notices have already been issued to around 150 households in the five
zones situated on the banks of the river. “Another 400 notices are ready
and will be served in the coming days. Two machines have been engaged
to clean the riverbed from both directions, Pardi and Ambazari lake,” he
said.

Leader of opposition group Vikas Thakre was not present
at Tuesday’s meeting as he was out of town. Talking to TOI, Thakre said
it is the responsibility of NMC to conserve the river. “We are ready to
lend all possible help to the administration to clean the river. First,
the health department should stop causing pollution and also ensure
citizens do not dump garbage or sewage,” he said.

Special officer for rivers and lakes Mohammed Israil has prepared the
plan to undertake treatment of sewage flowing into the river through
‘graben structure’ technology on 30 meter stretch. “Pilot project will
be taken on stream flowing through Civil Lines. The system will be
introduced on all 30 big nullahs flowing into the river once it is
proven to be successful,” he said.

During Tuesday’s meeting,
NCP group leader Prakash Gajbhiye said the urgent need was to demolish
illegal parking slab constructed on Nag River by NIT at Daga Layout.
“Citizens are facing great inconvenience due to water stagnating and
causing mosquito menace. Sewage system should be laid in layouts,
especially in slum areas, to conserve the river,” he said.

Municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane directed the health department to
ensure plugging of sewage inlets discharging into the river immediately.

Deputy mayor Sandip Jadhav, deputy ruling party leaders Neeta Thakre
and Munna Yadav, BSP group leader Murlidhar Meshram, NCP leader
Duneshwar Pethe, BRP-BMS leader Raju Lokhande, corporator Sudhakar Kolhe
and NMC officials were present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, 11 NGOs and social organizations have appreciated NMC’s plan to conduct a campaign and declared their support.