NMC, NEERI test ‘Jal Dost’ in Ambazari lake

Staff Reporter

The Eichhornia weeds in Ambazari Lake are spreading like a virus, polluting the prime water body of the city. To

contain further growth of the weed in the lake, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has been taking steps yet it failed to find a foolproof solution to the problem. Coming to NMC’s rescue, National Aerospace Laboratory (CSIR-NAL) and National Environment Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) developed a weed removing machine -- ‘Jal Dost’. The machine was handed over to the civic body recently. NMC conducted a trial run of ‘Jal Dost’ on Thursday. The machine came handy for it as it removed a large quanty of Eichhornia weeds from Ambazari lake. The trial of ‘Jal Dost’ was conducted in presence of Dr Abhijit Chaudhari, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator; and Dr Atul Vaidya, Director, CSIR-NEERI. Aanchal Goyal, Additional Municipal Commissioner; Dr Kartikeyen, CSIR-NAL; Prakash Warade, Assistant Commissioner; Dr Shweta Banerjee, Superintending Engineer, Environment Department; Dr Gajendra Mahalle, Deputy Commissioner, Solid Waste Management Department; Ravindra Bundhade, Executive Engineer; Ujjwal Lanjewar, Executive Engineer; Dr Atya Kaple, Senior Scientist, CSIR-NEERI; Dr Mahendra Patil; Sangeeta Goyal; Sharda Kusankar; Dr Anshuman Khardenwis; Sandeep Lokhande; Chandrakant Gabhane; Kaustav Chatterjee; Surbhi Jaiswal; Mehul Kosurkar; Bishnudev Yadav; Priya Yadav; Shriya Joge; and Kajal Pillai also were present.

The growth of Eichhornia weeds in Ambazari Lake has been a matter of concern for the civic body. NMC had started removing the weeds from the lake in the month of April but to no avail. The Eichhornia weeds have a variety of negative impact once introduced into a freshwater environment. It forms dense, impenetrable mats which clog waterways, making boating, fishing and almost all other water activities, impossible. “Sewage entering into the lake from MIDC side is the main reason behind the spreading of this weed. We have informed senior officials of MIDC to stop the source of sewage that has been entering in the lake,” Dr Gajendra Mahalle, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Solid Waste Management Department, NMC told The Hitavada.

“A team of fire and emergency department is performing the weed removal work from last more than one month. With the help of a boat, the fire men are removing the weeds. Now this state-of-the-art machine will speed up the process,” said Dr Mahalle. “Despite using such machines the complete removal of Eichhornia will take some time. Our teams are working hard and soon we will get rid of it,” said the Deputy Municipal Commissioner. However, according to environment experts, there is a need to block the entry of sewage that has been entering into the lake. This will help contain further growth of the weed. Without identifying its root, it is quite impossible to get rid of it, he added.