Thane team takes up Mulund river makeover

The grimy, grey piece of water body that now goes by the name of Mulund nullah could soon get rid of its unflattering moniker.

Thane-based water conservationists are working on a plan to rejuvenate this river, which if successful, would help it shed the ‘nullah’ tag, ascribed to it by ignorant residents and a largely, nonchalant civic body.

Headed by noted water conservationist Shirish Deshpande, the conservationists are putting to use latest technology and various other solid waste management techniques to reclaim the river, which in its current status is simply a mass of insipid water.

Mr Deshpande, a chemical engineer, who possesses about 18 years of diverse industrial experience in the areas of project handling in chemical industry, techno-commercial matters for turn-key projects, water auditing and energy auditing and implementation of energy conservation projects, said that he has taken up the project independently, with a core motive to change the face of the river.

“The river, in its current condition, is considered to be a nullah by the residents and even civic authorities. It has numerous effluent discharge points, which are a cause of concern. We have started the project, without the help of civic officials or politicians, solemnly with the basic agenda of river conservation,” said Mr Deshpande.

As the project has been going on for a couple of months, Mr Deshpande said his team has been making use of technology to remove silt and solid waste from the river as part of the first phase of the project, which is to clean the river. The team, which is well acquainted with the technology used in green conservation due to its avid corporate experience of providing ecological solutions, is using the same experience in maintaining the river and bringing it back to its original state. In its phase wise programme, after cleaning the river, the team will work on a sustainable conservation project for the river.

Mr Deshpande said that even though the work would help the river to shed its tag of nullah, a wide public awareness and participation of civic authorities is required for a sustainable change. Even in Mumbai, similar efforts to claim rivers has faced difficulties due to lack of public participation and ignorance of civic authorities towards the same.

As the river meets the Thane creek further in its course, cleaning of the river will play a major role in the conservation of the creek also, which is has faced large ecological imbalance in the past one decade, affecting its biodiversity, said Mr Deshpande.