Pune: As thick mats of water hyacinth clog Pune’s rivers and aggravate mosquito menace, city MLAs have taken up the issue with Pune Municipal Corporation and other agencies to find a possible solution to the growing problem.Shivajinagar MLA Siddharth Shirole recently inspected the Holkar bridge stretch of the Mula river, where vast portions of the riverbed have disappeared under a blanket of hyacinth. Calling the situation alarming, Shirole directed officials to take immediate action to clear the weed. He also pointed to poor coordination among govt agencies as a major reason the problem continued to fester. “Machinery has been deployed as an urgent step, but unless agencies work together and plan for the long term, this problem will return every year,” he said.For the residents living along the riverbanks, patience is wearing thin. Keshavnagar and Mundhwa residents said the unchecked spread of hyacinth was not only worsening mosquito breeding but also dealing a blow to aquatic life. Resident Manish Satkar recalled how the blame game between the gram panchayat and civic bodies left the issue unresolved for years. “After merging with PMC, we hoped for a permanent solution. Unfortunately, nothing has changed on the ground,” he said.With the monsoon approaching, PMC said it aimed to clear the weed before water levels rose. The civic body’s environment department said experts might be roped in to devise a long-term, scientific solution. Adding pressure, Hadapsar MLA Chetan Tupe said the matter had been taken up with state govt. “With financial support, PMC can tackle this systematically,” Tupe said, urging the civic body and the irrigation department to come up with a united action plan.
