Nagpur: Conscious of the need to preserve the ecology and more particularly an important water body, Nagpurians joined hands with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) for a massive exercise to remove fast-growing water hyacinth in Ambazari Lake on Sunday morning.
The Sunday exercise was a perfect example of civic body and citizens’ partnership aimed at restoring the pristine beauty of the Ambazari Lake, the biggest water body in Nagpur. NMC launched a comprehensive drive to remove the Eichhornia and had sought citizens’ help. On Sunday, citizens converged on the banks of the lake and worked shoulder-to-shoulder with civic body officials to pull out the water hyacinth that has invaded the lake surface for a long time.
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Wed 11 Dec. 2024
The NMC had been cleaning the lake for months now but because of constant industrial pollutants flowing in, the weed has been growing at an unprecedented speed. So, NMC called upon citizens and NGOs to help clean the lake and Nagpurians responded well.
About 600 citizens and 550 NMC employees formed human chains to pass the removed hyacinth all the way up to the embankment of Ambazari Lake.
An NMC official said, “Citizens’ response was great and they even want us to organize such a drive once again. The drive could continue for the coming days, but it is still a temporary solution. To find a permanent answer to the persistent problem, Municipal Commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhary has sought NEERI’s assistance. The institute is conducting a study,” said the NMC official.
It is said that water hyacinth grows rapidly when industrial waste concentration in water increases and lowers the amount of dissolved oxygen in water.
Apart from citizens and NMC personnel, 10 poclain, 10 JCB, 20 tippers, water boats, and dredging machines were employed by the NMC. Swimmers and personnel of various departments entered deep waters and pushed the weeds to the edge of the lake with a rope, from where people and machines took over.
Not only youngsters but senior citizens too participated in the cleaning drive with enthusiasm. Among the participants was an eight-year-old boy, Aaradhya Sharma, who joined his father in cleaning the city’s most important water body.
Shripad Burde, 83, cycled all the way from Mankapur to Ambazari to participate in the effort. Seeing the 83-year-old working to save the city’s lake inspired many.
The NMC official said NMC employees and heavy machinery will continue to clean Ambazari Lake of weeds. Though it was unclear how much weed was removed on Sunday, NMC officials said the quantity was huge.
NMC has also sought help from NEERI to find a permanent solution to stop growth of water hyacinth. Members of various NGOs also were at hand to help the NMC with removing the weeds.
Dr Gajendra Mahalle, Deputy Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, NMC; Dr Deepak Selokar, Medical Health Officer; Dr Narendra Bahirwar, Additional Medical Officer; Prakash Varade, Assistant Commissioner, Dharampeth Zone; Ashok Gharote, B P Chandankhede, Chief Fire Officer; Vijay Gurubaxani, Executive Engineer; Veersen Tambe, Chief, NDS; Kaustubh Chaterjee, Founder, Green Vigil Foundation; Dr Amit Samarth; well known cyclist; members of Subhash Mandal, Dolphin Sporting Club, Nagpur District Aquatic Association, Vijayani Group, Digdoh Jagruti Manch,Vidarbha Sarpa Mitra Samiti, Indian Medical Association office bearers and others were prominently present.
