HC panel directs drafting of plan for curbing river pollution

KOLHAPUR: A panel appointed by the Bombay High Court (HC) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s (MPCB) local unit were directed by E Ravindran, MPCB state member secretary, to draft a proposal enlisting the measures to stop pollution of Panchganga river. He also asked the MPCB regional unit to provide portable machines to treat waste water released from various establishments located in the textile town of Ichalkaranji.

Waste water released by the city is treated at the Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) set up by the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC). However, waste water and effluents from villages, towns, sugar mills and industries are still causing river pollution as they are being directly released into the river without being treated. According to Uday Gaikwad, an expert on the panel, the main focus must be on maintaining the flow of the river. If the flow of the river remains stable, the pollution caused by effluents is minimised. He added that there is an urgency to begin reusing treated waste water for purposes like irrigation and that small STPs must be set up for every three to four villages in the region.