250 truckloads of water hyacinth removed in 71 days from Pavana

Pimpri Chinchwad: Some social organizations removed 250 truckloads of water hyacinth from Pavana river in 71 days during a cleanliness drive.

Pradeep Walhekar, the president of Rotary Club of Walhekarwadi, shared this information with TOI. Pavana river flows through the middle of Pimpri Chinchwad city. Around 20km-long-stretch of it is in the municipal limits.

A green carpet of water hyacinth covers the river in March-April, making it a breeding ground of mosquitoes.

Ganesh Bora of Pimpri Chinchwad Citizens’ Forum (PCCF) said, “Around 20-22 social organizations in Pimpri Chinchwad and nearby areas are participating in the drive to make Pavana free of water hyacinth. Around 250 volunteers from these organizations assemble at a chosen spot along the river every Sunday and conduct the drive. We have tied ropes from one bank to the other at many spots to stop the movement of water hyacinth.”

Walhekar said, “Our club deploys around 40 men for removing water hyacinth from the river each week and we have incurred an expenditure of around Rs4.5 lakh in the past 71 days. We have collected around Rs2.5 lakh as contribution from volunteers participating in the drive on Sundays.”

He said untreated domestic sewage from villages upstream enters the river. The polluted water facilitates the growth of water hyacinth. This water hyacinth floats downstream, covering the entire river till Dapodi.