The Times of India 03.05.2013
NMC to spend Rs 9L on removing water hyacinth
from the Godavari riverbed by hiring a private contractor at a total
cost of Rs 9 lakh. The proposal is to be tabled at NMC’s standing
committee meeting on Friday.
The meeting was scheduled for
Thursday, but was adjourned after members paid homage to Nikhil Khadse,
son of Eknath Khadse, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly
and senior BJP leader.
The water hyacinth is to be removed
from the bridge near the government nursery to Holkar Bridge in Nashik
West division; from Asaram Babu ashram to Gangapur water fall in Satpur
division; and from Indraprastha bridge to Ahilyabai Holkar bridge in
Panchavati division of the NMC.
The contractor will have to bring his own machinery, paid for by the
NMC. The cost for removing the water hyacinth is estimated at Rs 9 lakh.
Water hyacinth has been a major problem for Godavari, and the main
cause, according to officials, is the release of untreated sewage into
the river in the absence of adequate treatment plants.
The
sewage expedites growth of the weed that covers the river’s surface. The
situation is likely to continue till the proposed sewage treatment
plant at Gangapur comes up.
