Residents on mission Ramnadi

Pune: Residents of Baner, Pashan, Aundh and Bavdhan have joined hands to clean up river Ramnadi.
They have tied up with city-based water experts and non governmental organizations to start clearing construction debris and sewage that has reduced the river into a narrow rivulet in just five years. They have also called on corporates to take up the issue.
Bouyed by their enthusiasm, officials of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) have also promised infrastructural support to the initiative, which is set to kickstart on April 30 with a puja near the bridge on Ramnadi after DSK Ranwara.
The objective is to clear the river before the monsoon by not only removing the garbage, but also temporary structures that have come up along the stream. Those living on its banks have repeatedly raised alarms about the encroachments increasing the risk of flash floods and waterlogging during the upcoming rainy season.
Elaborating on the river's present condition, Vaishali Patkar, president of Aundh Vikas Mandal, said, "There are temporary hutments on the banks of the river. People have thrown garbage, household goods like beddings and mattresses, and even construction debris into the river, reducing it to a dirty nalla. We need to act now to save the river. It's unfortunate that PMC departments keep pointing fingers at each other about whose responsibility it is." Patkar recently undertook a three-hour long survey of the river on foot.
The second half of the monsoon season can be bad for areas lying downstream of the Pashan Lake, warned Sarang Yadwadkar, a petitioner in a case going on in the National Green Tribunal about illegal structures coming up along rivers.
"The left bank of the Ramnadi has been raised much higher than its right side. Since the catchment area of the river is hilly, all the rainwater will run down as surface water, increasing the risk of inundation," he said.
Water has to find its way and if the path is blocked, it will go whereever it finds an outlet, said Indu Gupta, the primary petitioner in the case, who started her fight with a two-day fast on April 24, 2011. "We have been fighting to save the river for the last five years and will continue. We are in constant touch with the authorities. While some steps have been initiated in the past to broaden the river, it is unfortunate that people with money have the power to change the course of a river, at least on paper, for their own gains. Local authorities too are yet to act against the free flow of sewage (from residential societies) without treatment directly to Ramnadi, which results in frequent growth of hyacinth and associated mosquito menace," she said.
The activists have been promised machines by the Kothrud Ward Office to assist them in their work. Assistant commissioner of the ward, Jayant Bhosekar, said, "People of Ramnagar approached us with a request to help clean Ramnadi. We will be happy to provide them with dumpers and other safety equipments which will help remove debris. We will also try to do a bit of desilting to increase the width of the stream."
Swabhiman Shetkari Sangathan will, meanwhile, provide them with an excavator to pick and clear out the debris.Bavdhan and Pashan had suffered extensively due to flash floods caused by encroachment by some builders on the natural stream and flood line of Ramnadi on September 29, 2010.