The much needed and the first Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) on the Dahisar river has finally been installed by the washermen's association at Dhobhighat in Borivali (east). This five lakh litre capacity plant once operational will ensure that no polluted water from here will enter the river. Currently all the bleaches, detergents and other chemicals used for cleaning clothes directly enters the river not only affecting the quality of water but also causing threat to its biodiversity. The Dhobhighat was the first sore point in the proposed Dahisar river rejuvenation plan as it's the first and major polluter for the river as soon as the river exits Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). BMC in the month of May had given the Krishnanagar Dhobhighat Rahivasi Mandal one month's notice to set up a proper STP after which the association decided to invest in a Rs 14 lakh STP plant. Matafer Kanojia, chariman of the washermen association said that though the STP has been set up by them two weeks back, they are still awaiting final permissions to connect the STP to the drainage system, which has been put on hold as no road digging is allowed during rains. "All our waste water enters the river directly and we had received multiple notices from MPCB as well as BMC. Finally we decided to set up this plant and once this STP is functional- the soild waste formed will be converted into manure while the clean water will be released into the drain," said Kanojia. Members of River March actively campaigning for Dahisar river rejuvenation welcomed the move. "This is a success for our campaign. We even organised a visit of an STP expert on Saturday, who provided tips to make this plant effective," said Tejas Shah from River March. THE PURPOSE

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