THANE: With the monsoon just over a month away, the civic solid waste management department has started inviting tenders for their annual pre-monsoon drainage cleaning drives, which is expected to start on May 1.Every year, Thane city is riddled with water-logging issues and flooding in low lying areas during heavy rains as the storm water drains and massive nullahs that run through the city overflow with heaps of rubbish and get choked.While the civic body usually begins the clean up drive in the first week of May to limit the ill consequences that come with the rains in June, citizens believe that this one-month work is not enough to rid the 300km nullahs of the garbage in it.“I live in a low lying area and am prepared for water logging every year. However, because of the storm water drains and the nullahs are filled with waste, water logging in our area brings sewerage water and chunks of rubbish in our homes. This is dangerous and can cause a lot of health issues. Clearly the Thane Municipal Corporation’s (TMC) month-long drives have not worked all these years. They should carry out this work all year round,” said Anisha Pathankar, a resident of Vrindavan.Meanwhile, V Kirkire, a resident of Gawand Baug at the foothills of Yeoor, said, “Every year we hear the TMC spending crores to hire labourers and machines to clean nullahs, but we have never seen them in our area. As we live at the foothills of Yeoor the rainwater comes gushing down, bringing with it all the waste on the way, and not one official has come to inspect the nullah in our area till date.”While many Thaneites are now questioning this last minute incomplete initiatives by the civic body, officials claim that the issue of waste being strewn in nullahs will soon come to an end.“The main reason for the quantum of waste in the nullahs is because the residents of the slum pockets around these massive drains end up throwing their household waste in it. Even if we clean the drains all through the year, there will still be garbage dumped in it. To nip this issue in the bud we are planning various initiatives including door-to-door waste collection drive in slums,” said a civic official.“As of now, we have started tendering process for the pre-monsoon drainage cleanup activities and the work should commence on May 1. We will be working through the month across the city to prepare for the monsoon,” added a senior civic official.The main reason for the quantum of waste in the nullahs is because the residents of the slum pockets around these massive drains end up throwing their household waste in it. Even if we clean the drains all through the year, there will still be garbage dumped in it. To nip this issue in the bud we are planning various initiatives including door-to-door waste collection drive in slums

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