Thane creek needs major flush
If it is not desilted, the Sewri-Nhava sealink may prove disastrous for 25 million people, say greens….Ashwin Aghor
Whether the proposed Sewri-Nhava sealink will benefit the city or not can only be ascertained once the project is complete. However, environmentalists claim, if the problem of silting is not addressed soon, the sealink could be disastrous for the 25 million people living along the Thane creek.
With only one flushing area near Sewri, where it connects to the Arabian Sea, experts believe that the upcoming sealink will not only reduce the flushing area but also choke the creek due to heavy silting, which in turn will lead to flooding.
KD Lala, city engineer, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), said, The creek has a mangrove cover on both sides and is 26 km long and 5 km wide. However, we have noticed that the maximum silting is around pillars of the five bridges that have already been constructed in the creek. So the desilting work near the pillars needs to be done urgently.
The 30 million litre sewerage flowing in the creek every day further adds to the problem. We have already started sewerage treatment, nullah cleaning and mangrove plantation along the creek. This will help ease the pressure on the creek and desilting around pillars of bridges will further help in cleaning it up. said Lala, adding, that the non-cooperation of four other municipal corporations Mira Bhyander Municipal Corporation, Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation, Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation is delaying the cleaning process
Being at the centre of MMRDA activities, Thane creek has been under severe pressure due to developmental activities, mangrove destruction and pollution.
Conservationists like Vivke Kulkarni believe that the Thane creek should be included in the Ramsar Convention wetlands for protection of wetlands. Kulkarni, a member of Conservation Action Trust, said, The MMRDA authorities are talking about increasing the mangrove cover in some areas, but they conveniently ignore the fact that it is because of increasing silt.