TOI : City rivers are full of faecal content: Report : Oct 24,2007
RAISING A STINK
City rivers are full of faecal content: Report
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: A river in most places would add a touch of beauty to the landscape of any city, but not in Mumbai. A recent report on the citys internal rivers and creeks states that all rivers in Mumbai are greatly polluted with a high level of faecal content in each.
The report has been compiled by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri) for the BMC. Neeri has put together the state of Mithi, Dahisar, Poisur, Oshiwara and Vakola rivers and the creeks at Sewri and Mahul. Water samples were collected from each of these in the last week of August.
The results showed moderate to significant levels of pollution in each of the samples, with most pollutants being of domestic origin. The pollutants include sewage waste, water from the cattle sheds, industrial waste, as well as hospital waste rendering the water highly toxic. In fact, schoolchildren wade through the Dahisar river which makes them vulnerable to skin diseases and leptospirosis, said Mayor Shubha Raul, who announced the findings on Tuesday. The pollution levels are so high that fish and other creatures cannot survive in the water, she added.
More alarmingly, the report states that heavy pollution has been caused due to e-coli from human and animals excreta. The rivers and creeks in Mumbai have to take the load of sewage from the areas that are unserviced by a sewage connection, said a official from Neeri. He added that while the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Plan is one of the remedial measures, the BMC has to have a sustainable master plan which looks at the changing dynamics of the city over the next several years if it wants to resurrect the citys rivers.
toireporter@timesgroup.com
Publication:Times Of India Mumbai; Date:Oct 24, 2007; Section:Times City; Page Number:3