Farmers and residents of Malad village in Daund tehsil have raised concerns over the dumping of industrial waste into Malad lake and demanded action against the erring industries in Kurkumbh MIDC after thousands of fish were found dead. The Kurkumbh Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is located around 4km from the Malad lake. Residents of the area claimed that the water quality of the lake has significantly deteriorated, directly impacting the biodiversity and soil quality. They said the industries have been repeatedly dumping waste into the canal that flows into the lake for the past 10 years.
Locals depend on a stepwell that derives water from the lake for potable water as well as daily needs. “Many of us have been suffering from kidney stones and skin diseases due to the contaminated water. Moreover, agricultural land has gradually become infertile. Some of our crops are also dying because of this (inferior water quality), Amir Sayyad, a farmer whose land is on the periphery of the lake, told TOI. Sayyad said industries have been dumping waste since the establishment of MIDC in the area
“We have had multiple meetings with the officials of MIDC about this issue, but in vain. The effluents float on top of the lake and there is froth on the water body. Something needs to be done,” he said. Farmers claimed that their livestock was plagued with skin and gastrointestinal diseases due to the consumption of water from the lake. Locals mentioned that they observe industries doing this when the village receives some rainfall. “We have noticed that the released water is untreated despite instructions given to the industrial units to treat the water. The industries release untreated water, especially during rains. Recently, the village did not receive a lot of rainfall, yet the units released untreated water into the water body. This caused the death of many fish in the lake,” said Mahesh Ranawre, the former sarpanch of Malad.
Ranawre said the state pollution control board is yet to pay heed to the problem despite multiple requests. “Farmers have to source water from far away villages for irrigation purposes. The land in the village has become infertile, and only a few crops grow here. The growth of crops such as sugar cane and bajra is stunted,” Ranaware said. Supriya Sule, MP of Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, raised the issue with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).
The MPCB officials, responding to the issue raised by Sule, said they had reduced the release of effluents into the water body. However, the villagers denied observing any change. Sule recently conducted a meeting with MIDC members in the presence of MPCB officials to resolve the problem. Residents hoped that Sule’s meeting with the district collector scheduled later would bring a much-needed solution to the problem.