Dredging of Mhadei at Sonal without WRD nod

Keri: Dredging of the Mhadei has been undertaken by some locals at Sonal posing a serious ecological threat to the river in Sattari. The locals have neither informed the water resources department (WRD) about the dredging nor have they taken permission.The work at Movacho Guno has been taken up without understanding the local ecology, and the hydrological aspects of the river.“We have not been informed about the dredging work and we also have not authorised anybody to undertake it,” said Shailesh Pokle, executive engineer of WRD at Valpoi.Every year, sand mining is carried out in the river at Sonal on a massive scale. This threatens the natural course of the Mhadei.

Assuming that the sand mining would lead to blockages to the free flow of water, some locals took up the dredging work without informing the authorities concerned.Chandrakant Virdikar, who recently visited the spot, said that though desiltation has the potentiality to improve the hydraulic performance of a river, at Sonal, it has been found that a bulldozer was employed indiscriminately for the work.“Desiltation helps by removing accumulated sediment, debris and silt from a river, but at Sonal, it has been found that bulldozer was employed and shrubs of Sherni (Homonoia riperia) have been uprooted along with other vegetation that play role in protecting floodplains of river,” he said.