Even as the water in Pune is literally under the scanner for being contaminated amidst the rising Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) cases, the Indrayani River in the district is once again covered with a thick layer of white toxic foam.
This comes just a month after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke on the issue. He had also said that the government is working on a war-footing to clean the river but it cannot be cleaned in a day.
Promise made by CM
Amid rising pollution in the Indrayani River, Fadnavis, in January, instructed the industries to make sure that no effluent goes into the river and said that the work to clean the Indrayani River is underway.
The Indrayani River has long been polluted, and residents have recently noticed foam covering a sizable portion of the river. This is most likely the result of chemicals and untreated sewage being dumped into the water. The Indrayani River is a sacred river in the Alandi town of Pune. The Indrayani River originates in Kurvande village near Lonavala, a hill station in the Sahyadri mountains of Maharashtra, India.
Earlier on December 30, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray urged the Maharashtra Chief Minister to take stringent action against industrial units polluting the Indrayani River. Fed by rain, it flows east to meet the Bhima River, through the Hindu pilgrimage centers of Dehu and Alandi. It follows a course mostly north of the city of Pune. It is revered as a holy river and is associated with religious figures such as Sant Tukaram and Dnyaneshwar. There is a hydroelectric dam called Valvan Dam on the Indrayani at Kamshet.
In August last year, CM Eknath Shinde had also promised to take steps to make the Indrayani free from pollution during his visit to Alandi.
