Pune rivers in 2024: Floods, flies, bloodworms and threat to riparian zones

Water everywhere

Most of Pune’s water network has been very grossly neglected by Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. The streams and tributaries that meet the main channel are not taken care of. If they are managed well, the floods in the rivers will also be managed well. If you identify the locations other than Ekta Nagari on Mutha river, which had maximum floods, you will see that there are pockets where flooding has happened or increased that are actually away from the main rivers. These housing societies, which got affected by the floods, were along the stream bank and the river regressed into these streams, which indicates the carrying capacity of the river. In the July floods, there was flooding inside Yerawada jail, which is away from the river. This had nothing to do with the Mula flooding but was probably due to streams that have been diverted or altered in some way so that the water entered the jail.

This is an alarming situation if we have to vacate jails, where there are prisoners, due to flooding. Then, a report from PMC, which was in response to the RTI filed by Vivek Velankir, showed that the former agreed and accepted that the flooding had happened because of the encroachment. So, officially there is an agreement that there is encroachment and some action needs to be taken. They are now working on making flood control processes.

Polluted waters

In July 2024, a report from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) talked about the water quality on the stretches of Mula-Mutha and Pawana. It showed that Mula was still in Priority 2, which is “highly polluted” but the “maximum polluted” stretches are still in Mutha where not much of the work for improving the pollution level has happened in the last year. There were two pollution indicators that made citizens worry. The first were an unnaturally large number of flies that formed walls and assaulted the people. The second was in April in Hinjewadi, where, before the Mula enters Pune city, a housing society that has 15000 people noticed bloodworms in their water. The housing complex has a filter and, then, every building has its own filter. Then, every house has a filter. Yet, these bloodworms had escaped and reached into the household tap water.

There was, probably, a leakage in the pipes but the main reason is that they were lifting the Mula river water.
If such type of water pollution is entering our homes,there is a question about what we are doing about the pollution abatement? A research paper was published this year about the Khadakwasla catchment area pollution.

Where’s the Water Security

India is known to be a water scarce country. In the peak summer months, across India, there is a water shortage and over extraction of groundwater is happening. We are among the maximum groundwater extractors in the world. This is happening in Pune city as well, despite having a chain of dams upstream, from Khadakwasala to Pawana to Mulshi. A big issue is the increase of water tankers every year. Where PMC water supply does not reach, all peri-urban areas depend on alternative water supply, either by tankers or borewells that go dry in summers or lift it from polluted rivers and treat. PMC has not able to reach out to the people with the services and the basic right to water has been a challenge for the authorities. Right to water is deprived in the developing areas. Villages in Pune Metropolitan Region do not get water supply from PMC. Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority does not have its water source.

Water Resources Department refuses to give additional water. It simply means priorities are not for providing basics but for providing aesthetics. A groundwater cell was initiated last year in PMC, which has happened probably for the first time in the country.

Roots and Branches

Let me talk about tree felling. There has been a lot of tree felling and in 2023 the Bombay High Court ordered PMC to stop cutting trees on Ganeshkhind Road. In October this year, the National Green Tribunal, western zone bench, directed PMC to submit a revised proposal on felling trees for the construction of the Sadhu Vaswani railway overbridge. Unfortunately, the Tree Act that used to support the old-growth trees and heritage trees has been modified. This makes me very sad that people are now allowed to cut these. About the riparian zone protection, nothing has still been done along the river bank. When you look from the rivers’ perspective, there has hardly been any conservation or protection work being followed by the urban local bodies. Spring restoration programmes are not happening by the urban local bodies.

Feel the heat

The heat island effect has been increasing in Pune, particularly in Koregaon Park areas where, recently, embankments were done. Koregaon Park used to be green and pristine and, this year, it was among the hottest areas in Pune. Even the air quality has suffered.

Looking ahead

1) The PMC committee which has taken the stand that they would take action on flood control. In June, there was also a Bombay High Court order, according to which we should expect the revised floodlines to be demarcated by the Water Resource Department in 2025. We hope that floodlines will be respected – which means there will be no encroachment on the river — and people will be safe from floods.

2) This year embankments have started being constructed on the PMC and PCMC side by riverfront development. Mula has a rich riparian vegetation, A large number of old growth trees are present here. This year will be about watching how many trees are going to be felled for the riverfront development. At present, you can see the JCBs from Wakad to Sangvi and excavations and dumping have started happening. . Till now, a lot of the land with green cover was with the defence. Now, both urban local bodies have taken permission and defence has given away the land to them along the riverbank for the riverfront development.

3 ) What is not even present at the policy level is the lack of protection for aquatic life. We have laws to protect the tiger and the Great Indian Bustard, and this is essential. But, have you heard of a single fish getting protection? If policymakers include the rights of fish and aquatic life in 2025, I can assure you that conservation and restoration methods will automatically follow.