The Kamvari River situated in the Nadi Naka area, one of the major areas for water logging in Bhiwandi city during the monsoon, is strewn with garbage. Locals claimed that no cleaning or garbage removal work was done here.
A portion of the river flows through the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) limits while some parts of its jurisdiction come under Shelar gram panchayat. Even the small drains of Nadi Naka, Vanjjarpatti and Amina Baugh areas connected to Kamvari River are full of garbage.
Sameer Shaikh, a 28-year-old resident of the Nadi Naka in Bhiwandi, said, “The civic body has not done an in-depth job of cleaning the drains. They are cleaned only on the outside. Large amounts of garbage are placed near the boundary of Kamvari River and outside a small drain. Only one of the three small drains is cleaned. Thousands of people reside near the river bank. Due to improper cleaning, the effluents and garbage flow into the homes of these people.”
Residents of Nadi Naka areas claim that the drains in low-lying areas of Mhada Colony and Gaffur Basti continue to be blocked with filth and sludge as well.
The nullah-cleaning work was initiated on May 7. However, the work has not been completed yet.
Vijay Kumar Mhasal, commissioner of BNCMC, said, “Almost all the nullah and drain-cleaning work have been completed. We are monitoring on a daily basis. We will clear the small drain lines. However, the garbage dumped in the river has been there for many years and does not come under the scope of nullah cleaning.”
Civic officials said that residents of Nadi Naka and Mhada Colony have dumped garbage into rivers for many years. Despite many efforts taken by the civic body, the residents have not stopped dumping garbage in the river, choking it.