Page 92 - Sugam Sarita

more sewage, resulting in the overloading of sewage treatment plants.

As a result, there are greater pollution loads discharged into the Mula-
Mutha, two rivers that confluence within city limits and serve to flush
away Pune’s excreta. The Pune Municipal Corporation has a
waterworks capacity to treat and distribute 1292 MLD. It is however

currently supplying 1222 MLD of water at a staggering average
supply rate of 321 LPCD, more than double the standards set by the
Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization,
a technical wing of the Ministry of Urban Development. The actual

statistics suggest that , after leakages in the piped network, work out
to 866 MLD, or 228 LPCD.
Earth5R , a worldwide NGO working on climate change initiatives
took initiative by cleaning up the banks of the Mula-Mutha River.

The project involved cleaning up the plastic that was thrown on the
banks of the river which would otherwise form a layer on the river
eventually. It took two hours to do a thorough cleanup of the banks
of the river. Several huge garbage bags were filled with the trash

collected by the team.
Mula and Mutha rivers are part of five rivers in Maharashtra covered
under the pollution abatement scheme of Jalshakti Mantralaya in the
last five years. Funds released under the central scheme are Rs1183

crore. In 2017, union minister of state for Jal Shakti department, Mr.
Bishweswar Tudu announced that five rivers in Maharashtra —
Krishna, Panchganga, Mula Mutha, Tapi, and Mula-Mutha are part
of pollution abatement scheme. Maharashtra government has taken

up projects for setting up 76 sewage treatment plants of total capacity
1279.70 MLD.

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