15.52 lakh cubic metres silt removed, Vadodara civic body to install coir nets on Vishwamitri banks to prevent erosion

With the June 15 deadline for the Vishwamitri river revival and flood mitigation project drawing closer, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has removed 15.52 lakh cubic metres of silt from the water body.
To prevent a washout during monsoon, the civic body has decided to install coir nets for riverbank stabilisation.
Notably, the amount of silt removed from the river is only half of the 34.98 lakh cubic metre of sludge extracted from different water bodies, including lakes, reservoirs and drains, in the city as part of the project.
The civic body, meanwhile, said that 90% of the work on the Vishwamitri project had been completed.
The VMC has issued tenders to procure 1.35 lakh square meters of high-strength erosion control coir mats that will enable stabilisation and reinforcement of the riverbank once the ongoing work of desilting and dredging is complete.
Experts said coir matting is helpful in holding the soil in place.
In a statement, the civic body said, 'Following the work of resurfacing, currently ongoing in the Vishwamitri river, in order to arrest the erosion of the river bank, installation of 1.35 lakh square meters of coir will be undertaken… Similarly, directions have been issued to dismantle the ramps created for movement of machines at 60 points along the riverbank, immediately after the completion of the work.'
The VMC said, 'The work is currently on in the last phase, and close to 15.15 lakh cubic metres of silt has been removed while about five kilometre stretch is now remaining to be completed.'
On Friday, the VMC said that it had extracted a total of 34.69 lakh cubic metres of silt during simultaneous projects — the deepening of the Ajwa and Pratappura reservoirs, creation of pond in Dena, dredging of the lakes in the city as well as clearing of various storm water drains. A total of 8.5 lakh cubic metre and 3.92 lakh cubic metre of silt was removed from Pratappura and Ajwa reservoirs, respectively. The VMC further said it had cleared 175 hectares of shrubs from around the river periphery.
The civic body stated that a total of 967 metric tonnes of plastic waste had been extracted from the Vishwamitri river during the ongoing desilting and re-sectioning work, which has been sent for processing and recycling to the authorised agency of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Rohit Prajapati of Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti said that the installation of coir mats was one of the significant steps in the restoration of the river. It was on the petition of this organisation that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had issued directions on implementation of the 'Vishwamitri River Action Plan', including the action points.
Prajapati, who is part of the committee appointed by the Gujarat State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to supervise the project and submit a report every fortnight, said, 'The installation of the coir mats is a mandatory step recommended by city-based environmentalists as per the order of the NGT. It is necessary and therefore, the civic body has accepted the recommendation and tendered for the same.'
Urban planner Neha Sarwate, who is part of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, explained that coir mats dissolve in the soil over a period of time after anchoring vegetation growth to prevent erosion. 'The coir matting for bank stabilisation is helpful in holding the soil in place and also anchors vegetation. For alluvial plain and clay soil as in Vadodara's Vishwamitri river bank, the coir matting will be a protective layer as steep slopes need to be stabilised. It usually stays for two years and then dissolves into the soil…,' she told The Indian Express.

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