Siltation narrowing mouth of Mahim creek, say greens …………..Chittaranjan Tembhekar I TNN
Mumbai: Environmentalists in the city have expressed concern over the narrowing of the mouth of the Mahim creek, which they claim is the result of the construction of the Bandra-Worli Sealink (BWSL).
The greens claim that the satellite pictures taken in 2000, before work on the sealink began, and 2008 showed that the mouth of the creek has narrowed by nearly 400 mfrom 1,600 m to 1,200 m. They say heavy silt deposition at Mithi rivers mouth has not only threatened the ecosystem but also put the lives of residents of the area at risk.
Debi Goenka, trustee of Conservation Action Trust, said the state administration had not paid attention to the warning by environmentalists then and that the result of their ignorance was evident now. It wont be surprising if the mouth gets choked causing another 26/7 in a couple of years if the administration keeps ignoring the issue, Goenka added.
Rishi Agarwal of the Mangrove Society of India said sedimentation towards the creek of the bay was a result of weakening water currents inside the sea because of the huge pillars that were erected to support the BWSL.
The pillars and construction work weaken the water currents, which affects the movement of water through the creek. This results in heavy sedimentation at the mouth and across the bay. During low tide, you can easily identify heavy silt deposited on the Mithis bed, he added. Agarwal said it was high time the administration took steps to prevent the possible choking of the creeks mouth and that a comprehensive Mahim bay management plan be chalked out to save the ecosystem of the place. S M Sabnis, chief engineer of the BWSL, said the Mahim Causeway was narrower than the mouth of the creek and neither did the situation pose any threat to the ecosystem nor was there any possibility of floods. He said the creeks mouth was wide enough and according to the principles of hydraulics, siltation occurs only upstream on narrow stretches. Sabnis recommended that the causeway should be expanded, adding that the MMRDA had already taken action in that regard.
Controlled blasting by the MMRDA to expand the creek towards the causeway before this years monsoon had raised eyebrows after the first spell of rains resulted in flooding at BKC and Kurla. Sabnis gave an assurance on the MSRDCs cooperation in maintaining the ecosystem.
