Nashik
Amit Kulkarni, founder president of Nisarga Sevak Yuva Manch, has demanded through a statement to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that works should be done for the purification of Nandini River by including it in the Smart City or Namami Goda project.
In this regard, no response is received even after repeated follow-ups with the municipal corporation, the youth forum stated while making a direct request to the State government. It also warned of severe agitation if the Nandini river is not included in the Namami Goda project.
Samarth Ramdas Swami named this river Nandini after 12 years of his stay at Takli. The condition of the Nandini (Nasardi) river, which has acquired spiritual importance, has deteriorated today. This tributary has turned into a drain due to industrial chemical effluents and wastewater directly discharging into the mainstream of the river.
“The lives of devotees coming to the city for the Kumbh Mela may be in danger. After measuring the entire river basin of the Nandini, a tributary of the Godavari river, and the basins of the natural channels that join it, gabion walls should be built along the riverside and protective nets should also be installed on the bridge,” the statement added. It should be protected and conserved along with the beautification of Godavari, it added.
Earlier, around Rs 24.98 lakh fund was sanctioned for protective netting on Untwadi bridge and a bridge near City Center Mall signal to help reduce the Nandini river’s pollution. A large amount of garbage and plastic is dumped into the Nandini river near Untwadi bridge and the bridge on the road leading to Govindnagar, near City Centre Mall signal.
