Thane: A sharp increase in mud and sediment in the Ulhasnagar river over the past 10 days has repeatedly clogged pumps at filtration plants, reducing treated-water supply by around 20% to Badlapur, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar and Kalyan. Officials suspect illegal sand-mining activity along the river may have contributed to the increase in sediment, though this has not been established.

Murky Ulhasnagar river water chokes pumps, cuts water supply by 20%

The river supplies drinking water to the four areas and has become increasingly murky since the beginning of the Ganesh festival, according to officials.

The Badlapur water department has warned that some areas may face reduced water supply for a few more days as the treatment plant operates at lower capacity.

Suresh Kadri, an official with the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran, said the condition of the river water had improved over the past two days but would take some time to return to normal.

“We have been witnessing murky water in the river since the Ganesh festival began. The situation has improved over the past two days, but it will still take at least a couple of days for the river water to become completely clear,” Kadri told HT.

The high sediment load has caused pumps to malfunction repeatedly, reducing the volume of water that can be filtered. The plant normally treats around 140 million litres per day (MLD), but is currently supplying only 110-120 MLD, Kadri said.

Officials suspect that illegal sand-mining operators may have used the reduced police presence during the Ganesh festival, when personnel were deployed for bandobast duties, to carry out dredging operations.

They suspect high-powered suction pumps used for such operations may have disturbed the riverbed and released large quantities of soil and sediment into the river.