While Berlin, Paris and Moscow have clean flowing rivers, Pune has two rivers which resemble gutters than bodies of water. In fact, a former Union environment minister during his visit to the city in 2010 had called Mutha river a sewage canal.What starts as a sparkling stream of water in the Sahyadri ranges turns into a turbid one emitting obnoxious fumes by the time it meets the Sangam Bridge in Pune.
Sandeep Joshi, director of city-based Shrishti, an eco-research institute said “Dissolved oxygen content (DOC), which is necessary for survival of aquatic life, goes on decreasing till it hits the Sangam Bridge. The condition of the river is at its worst near the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) building,”
Apart from the decrease in the DOC, the rise in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) has been at an alarming level in the city. The rise of BOD is an indication of pollution level in water bodies.
According to the environment status report (ESR) of the PMC, BOD has been steadily on the rise in the Mula river since the past few years. Other than Khadakwasla, the other parts of the city, like Wadgaon Budruk, Erandawane, Joshi Bridge, Sangam Bridge, Yerawada and others recorded BOD levels far higher than the permissible one.
Joshi said that the stench emitting from the rivers is a proof of the anaerobic reactions being carried out by bacteria on the river bed. “Due to the sluggish flow of the river, solids percolate on the river bed and the anaerobic bacteria work on it, thus emitting a strong stench,” he said.
He also said that the major cause of the sorry state of river is the entry of non-treated sewage into the river. “As per the PMC, only 70% of the 9.50 TMC of sewage generated by the city is treated in the six sewage treatment plants (STPs). However, analysis of the efficiencies of the STPs has shown them to be only 10% effective,” he added.
