CSMC to complete desilting of nullahs by May-end

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The civic administration has claimed to remove silt from more than 80 percent of the nullahs in the city. It also hopes to complete the remaining 20 percent by May-end.

There are 94 small and big nullahs of length 194 km. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) deployed its staff on April 2 and completed desilting in nullahs of length 174 km so far.

Like every year, the CSMC saved Rs 2-3 crore which would have been spent on the same task if done by a private contractor. Acting upon the orders of the municipal commissioner G Sreekanth, the CSMC deployed its officials and personnel to complete the task before the onset of the monsoon.

The executive engineer R N Sandha said, “ The garbage waste and silt have been removed from the nullahs and have been unloaded at the nursery situated in the bed of Kham River. JCBs and poclains have done the desilting in the big nullahs, while labourers have been pressed to desilt small and narrow-sized nullahs. This work is in the last phase.

Each ward engineer was given an advance of Rs 2 to 5 lakh and the total work of desilting nullahs will be completed by May 31, hoped Sandha adding that there are fewer chances of storms in the nullahs during the heavy rainfall as they are being desilted deeply.

The CSMC executive engineer (mechanical) Amol Kulkarni said, “ The section has released 10 JCBs, 5 poclains, 10 tippers, and 5 tractors for desilting of nullahs in April. Of which the poclains and tractors have been hired from a private agency.”