Ashish Shelar, the BJP Mumbai president, has called on the BMC administration to provide transparency regarding the depth of excavation carried out in the nullahs for silt removal and the total amount of silt cleared thus far. Over the past few days, Shelar has led a team of BJP MPs, MLAs, and former corporators on visits to various nullahs to assess the progress of desilting operations. Accompanied by a group including MP Gopal Shetty, MLAs Yogesh Sagar and Vidya Thakur, as well as several others, Shelar began their inspections at the Oshiwara River and Bhagat Singh nullah. Despite challenging conditions during high tide, the team successfully used a JCB to remove sludge from those locations. However, they discovered significant accumulations of silt at Valnai nullah. Prompt action was taken by the workers upon learning of the BJP leaders' visit.
Subsequently, Shelar and his team visited Bhim Nagar, where they found that although the nullah had been cleaned, encroachments had resulted in a reduced width. Similarly, work was underway to clear a considerable amount of silt from the Dahisar River.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the current state of nullah cleaning in the city, Shelar emphasized the need for the BMC to disclose not only the quantity of sludge removed but also the depth to which the contractors had excavated. This information would determine whether the nullahs had been thoroughly cleaned or if the contractors had merely addressed the surface-level silt, leaving the nullahs inadequately cleaned. Shelar made these remarks while speaking to the media.