BMC desilting an eyewash, claim activists

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has claimed to have completed more than 20 per cent nullah cleaning works in the city, civic activists have alleged that the works carried out by civic contractors are just an eyewash. The civic body’s claims about desilting works are utterly false, the activists said.

Godfrey Pimenta from the Watchdog Foundation said, “The nullah at Marol area, Andheri (east) was recently cleaned by the contractor. However, the nullah is still filled with silt. We demand to know which BMC officials supervised the cleaning and which official is responsible for the verification of claims filed by the contractor.”

Alleging that BMC claims on desilting works are false, Mr Pimenta demanded a CID probe into the matter.

“The Rafiq Nagar nullah at Govandi is completely filled with silt and garbage but the BMC has started the desilting work only on Thursday. The cleaning works are always shoddy, which leads to water logging in nearby areas,” said local resident Raees Ahmed.

The corporators have also slammed the civic body for the delay in desilting works. Senior Congress corporator Waqarunnisa Ansari said that the meteorological department has predicted early monsoon, but several nullahs in the city still need to be cleaned.

Mumbai NCP chief Sachin Ahir said, “Desilting have been delayed due to internal dispute between Sena-BJP. If desilting does not start within a couple of days, NCP activists will enter the nullah and dump the silt before the houses of Sena-BJP leaders.”