Mithi River

Arabian Sea

Vihar Lake

Mahim Creek

A group of students that launched a weekly river clean-up operation at Mahim four months ago is struggling to attract volunteers for the project. Although previous such campaigns have been successful, conditions at Mahim, where themeets the, are so toxic and dirty that citizens have largely kept away.The 18-kilometre-long Mithi originates from Borivali. At the other end, it connects Mahim with Bandra on one side; on the other bank there are around 250 houses, which mostly belong to the local fishing community. In the past 10 years, many pakka slums have also come up in the area. There are only eight toilets for a population of approximately 1,500.Malhar Kalambe, a 21-year-old environmentalist, recently launched ‘Beach Please’, an initiative to clean up Mumbai. For the past four months he has been leading a drive to clean the Mithi, and says on average he gets 10 to 30 volunteers to help.“We saw huge participation from Mumbaikars for previous beach clean-ups and were expecting similar support this time. But the area is so filthy that it has put many people off,” Malhar, who is studying chartered accountancy, says. “Piles of excrement, rotting food, industrial waste, effluents, plastic, used clothes… Even the locals do not want to help. At this rate – and without any support from the BMC – it will take around four years to clean the river.” The layer of rubbish is thick and Malhar has to use an axe to dislodge the muck. The volunteers have so far removed 25 tonnes of rubbish. “Those little sand patches that you see… that’s due to our efforts. There was a dense layer of garbage. When we started we had to wear gumboots before entering the area. The BMC has kept two bins here. During previous cleanups it provided heavy equipment.Not this time,” Malhar says. Anushree Patil, another volunteer, is in college. “We want to keep our city clean,” she says. “This is a mammoth task. We try to appeal to people to come with us, but sometimes we don’t get enough response. Still, I am confident that our efforts will not go in waste.”Five generations of Purnima Meher’s family have lived on the banks of Mithi. She says she is embarrassed about her surroundings. “These children clear out rubbish every Sunday but people keep dumping waste,” she says. “We have tried to speak to people, but that has not helped. The BMC is also responsible for the situation.They do not collect the waste daily. The bins are kept at two ends of the locality. This has forced many to throw the rubbish behind their houses. Also, there is a floating population here that we have no control over. Convincing them is a big challenge.”Four toilets have been installed at the entrance of the locality, but they lack electricity and running water, according to one resident. “Some of us have toilets in our homes. But the toilets installed by the BMC are just for show. They have no water and are never cleaned. What can the people do?” says Sunita Tandel.A 2016 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had criticised the BMC for the deteriorating situation. “The pollution level of Mithi River, from Powai andto, was alarming,” it said.“MCGM engaged IIT-Mumbai seeking suggestions on the issue. IIT-Mumbai, in its report (June 2006), suggested that 37 small sewage treatment plants may be set up along the Mithi River. MPCB [Maharashtra Pollution Control Board] also accepted (December 2013) the report of IITMumbai.However, MCGM has not acted on the report till date (July 2016) citing financial problems, encroachment and its slum programmes. The reasons were not tenable considering the availability of funds with the corporation and the fact that MCGM was responsible for removing the encroachments. MCGM also did not have any time-bound programme for slum development along the entire stretch of Mithi River,” the report said.“I have been raising the problem of Mithi clean-up for years,” says Milind Vaidya, the corporator of the ward. “How long can I pursue this issue? Why can’t BMC officials monitor their contractors and check if they are doing their job?The BMC, meanwhile, says the volunteers did not contact the local body for help. “They did not tell us about the clean-up. We would have provided help,” says Ashok Khairnar, the ward officer. “Also, we have an efficient garbage collection operation. The citizens should register complaints with us if rubbish is not being collected.”Afroz Shah, a young lawyer and environmentalist who came into prominence for his efforts to clean up Versova Beach, admits there is a lack of participation in the Mithi drive. He recently started a clean-up drive at the beginning of the river, near Powai, and has managed to attract volunteers.“Local participation is important. I conduct awareness camps with locals and involve them in the work. I link up with school and college students for their participation,” he says.