A special cleanliness drive at Ambazari Lake on Saturday witnessed two contrasting scenes — corporators and civic staff risking their safety by entering the waterbody without protective gear, while a campaign meant to promote environmental conservation ended up generating fresh plastic waste along the lake's embankment.
During the drive organised by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), corporators Yogesh Pachpore and Darshani Dhawad, along with Dharampeth Zone chairperson Dhanashree Deshpande, were seen wading into the lake to pull out water hyacinth. Several Dharampeth Zone employees and volunteers followed them into the water and joined the exercise.
The action raised questions over safety protocols as none of those entering the lake was seen wearing life jackets or using safety ropes. The manual removal of weeds also appeared unnecessary, considering that NMC has already procured a specialised weed-harvesting machine worth around Rs1.50 crore for the purpose. Other heavy machinery, including Poclain excavators, has also been deployed for lake maintenance activities.
Residents questioned why elected representatives and civic workers were entering the lake when mechanised equipment was available. "If dedicated machines exist for weed removal, there should be no need for anyone to risk their lives in the water," remarked a resident watching the drive.
The event also drew criticism for generating avoidable waste. The public health engineering department distributed packaged drinking water in single-use plastic bottles to participants. As the event progressed, several empty bottles were seen lying along the embankment and nearby open spaces. Commissioner Itankar reprimanded the officials for this, saying that generating plastic waste while undertaking a clean-up drive mars its entire intention.
Ironically, sanitation workers from the Dharampeth Zone were simultaneously engaged in collecting litter from the same areas. Volunteers of Green Vigil Foundation, led by founder Kaustav Chatterjee, were also seen picking up plastic waste and other garbage from the lake's periphery.
The episode highlighted how civic campaigns can lose credibility when safety norms are overlooked and environmental messages are undermined by practices that create waste rather than reduce it.
