Dirty nullahs no good advertisement for Shimla

Kuldeep Chauhan

The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the state Pollution Control Board have adopted dirty nullahs under the ‘Swachh Shimla’ drive for their regular and sustained cleaning. But even after months of the SMC decision early this year, garbage and junk produced in the city are still being dumped in these eco-sensitive nullahs. Recently, it suspended three of its garbage collectors after they were caught dumping garbage in the Combermere nullah that runs through the middle of Shimla city and their videos went viral.

The state Pollution Control Board along with NGOs Healing Himalayas and Voice, Nirankari Mission, SSB home guard jawans and the SMC has launched campaigns to clean the Lift-Combermere nullah and the Mehli nullah. But garbage is still being dumped in them, presenting an ugly picture.

The Combermere, Mehli, Kanlog, HP Housing Colony, Shanag and Maliana nullahs end up in the Ashwani khad, which is the source of drinking water for Shimla and Solan town. 

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has also directed the Pollution Control Board, the SMC and other government agencies to prepare action plans to improve the quality of water in rivers such as the Ashwani khad in a time-bound manner.

Nirankari sect followers have adopted the premises of Kamla Nehru Hospital, making a marked difference. The hospital located in the wild now looks clean and pleasing to eyes, say patients. “We clean the hospital premises regularly,” says Amit Kumar, a volunteer of Nirankari sect.

But the condition of the nullahs is not improving. Tourists, local vendors and even taxi-walas dump waste in the Combermere nullah, says Surinder Shandil, an environmentalist.

As a matter of fact, the River Rejuvenation Committee formed on the direction of the NGT has asked the Irrigation and Public Health Department and the SMC to explore the possibility of using treated water from the sewage treatment plants for irrigation.

The River Rejuvenation Committee conducted a drive in the city in June to clean the nullahs that feed the Ashwani khad. Similar drives were launched in the Markandey, Sukhna and Sirsa rivers in the Baddi-Barotiwala belt. These rivers are the most polluted ones in the area and the NGT had also taken cognizance of the matter last year. 

The NGT had formed the River Rejuvenation Committee to monitor the pollution levels in seven rivers of the state. The committee had directed the departments concerned to find ways to use treated water from the sewage treatment plants for irrigation so that it does not end up in rivers.

A high level of biological oxygen demand (BOD) was found in the Ashwani khud recently. A preliminary report by the Pollution Control Board blamed it on untreated sewage from the Maliana treatment plant and other nullahs flowing into the khud. The BOD levels in the Beas, Giri, Pabbar, Markandey, Sukhna and Sirsa rivers are also higher than the permissible limits, says Shandil. 

The pollution is rising as garbage, untreated sewage, plastic and other materials are still finding their way into the rivers, he adds.