Dead Fish Found in Mula River Raises Pollution Alarm

As an environmental worker who has worked to clean up rivers all over India for more than seven years, I was shocked to hear this week that dead fish were found floating in the Mula River near Pune. This upsetting event shows that the river has major pollution problems that need to be fixed right away. Read below about “Dead Fish Found in Mula River Raises Pollution Alarm”.

I have done a lot of study on water pollution in India’s major rivers, and I have seen firsthand how untreated sewage and industrial waste water are killing these important freshwater ecosystems. Just like with the Mula River, this new case is the same.

A Brief Look at the Pollution Crisis in the Mula River

I have been to the Mula-Mutha river area many times over the years and have seen how the water quality is getting worse and how much pollution there is from many sources. A lot of sewage from Pune city, which doesn’t have good sewage treatment facilities, flows into the river without being cleaned. For every 700 MLD of sewage that comes from Pune, only 307 MLD is cleaned up and dumped into the river. This is just not okay.

Along with garbage, the river also gets waste water from the hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses that are grouped together along its banks. A lot of these units don’t have the right effluent treatment plants, so they dump dangerous chemicals straight into the water. Heavy metals like lead, chromium, nickel, and cadmium, as well as herbicides and detergents, have been found in large amounts in the river water by studies.

Pollution’s Effects on Aquatic Life and Ways of Life

All of this garbage is mixing together to make a poisonous mixture that is killing all the aquatic life in the river. The recent sighting of dead fish floating in the river is a clear sign of this very serious pollution problem.

Because I care about the environment, I went to the place where the dead fish were found to learn more about what was going on. There were a lot of dead fish on the stretch near where the Mula-Mutha River meets the Pavana River. Some of the fish, like rohu, catla, mrigal, and common carp, are important to the ecosystem of the river and the fishing industry in the area.

Getting to know the local fishermen opened my eyes to the problems they face every day. They said that over the years, as pollution levels have gone up, fish numbers have dropped by a lot. Many people have stopped fishing completely because the dying river has taken away their only source of income. They said that untreated sewage and industrial waste have made the water cloudy and limited the amount of oxygen in it, making it hard for fish to live.

What We Can Learn from Other Efforts to Clean Up Rivers

The new event makes the Mula-Mutha the fifth river in Maharashtra to be declared dead. The others are the Mithi, the Savitri, the Ulhas, and the Godavari. This is a scary wake-up call for both the government and the people. The river needs to be brought back to life and its important ecosystem services need to be restored right away.

As an expert on river rejuvenation, I recommend the following measures based on best practices implemented in other places:

1. Upgrade Sewage Treatment Infrastructure: Pune Municipal Corporation must invest heavily in new STPs and upgrade existing ones to ensure all sewage is treated before entering the river. A decentralized STP network across the city is crucial.
2. Regulate Industrial Pollution: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board must enforce zero liquid discharge norms for industries. All effluents must be treated, recycled and reused. Polluting units must be shut down if found non-compliant.
3. Reforestation of River Banks: Native vegetation like bamboo, neem, peepal etc. must be planted extensively along the banks to provide natural filtration for runoff entering the river. This will help regenerate the ecosystem.
4. Community-Driven Cleanups: Local citizens, schools, NGOs must be mobilized for regular cleanliness drives to remove solid waste from the river. This builds public stake in reviving the river.
5. Public Awareness Campaigns: Extensive public outreach programs are needed to educate citizens on not dumping waste into the river. Children must be sensitized through school programs.
6. Stringent Monitoring: Continuous water quality monitoring and surprise inspections of pollution sources must be carried out. CCTVs can help identify polluters for strict action.
7. Conservation of Biodiversity: Fish sanctuaries, hatcheries and biodiversity parks must be set up to replenish aquatic life including fish, turtles, birds etc.
8. Sustainable Agricultural Practices: Farmers must be trained to use organic fertilizers and give up chemical pesticides that enter the river through runoff.
9. Public Interest Litigation: NGOs and legal groups should file PILs to hold government bodies accountable for failing to curb pollution and revive the river.

Conclusion

The Mula-Mutha has great cultural significance for Pune and its restoration will improve quality of life in the city. As citizens, we must make our voices heard and put pressure on authorities to take decisive action before it is too late. The time to act is now, before more aquatic life perishes and the river crosses the point of no return.

Together, through collective public action, stringent government response and sustainable solutions, I am optimistic we can transform the Mula-Mutha into a clean, free-flowing river teeming with fish and wildlife once again. We owe it to future generations to leave behind a healthy living river, the lifeline of any city. I urge the government, civil society and citizens to make river rejuvenation a top priority. I hope you like reading “Dead Fish Found in Mula River Raises Pollution Alarm”.