Thane announces drain cleaning drive alongside ongoing its cleanliness campaign ahead of monsoon

The Thane Municipal Corporation TMC in Maharashtra on Thursday said that it was starting a special drain cleaning drive alongside its ongoing cleanliness campaign ahead of the arrival of the monsoon seasonAn official statement said that a largescale cleanliness campaign is underway in Thane and the civic body will begin drain cleaning work from Friday April 10 as part of efforts to improve sanitation across the cityIt said that the campaign is being carried out under the vision of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with leadership of Thane Mayor Sharmila Pimpalolkar and under the guidance from Thane Municipal Commissioner Saurabh RaoCleanliness drives in key Thane areasThe officials said that on Friday morning a cleanliness drive will be conducted at the Indiranagar Naka in Lokmanya Savarkar Nagar ward and it will begin at 8 am A drive will also be launched near Darul Falah Masjid area in Mumbra area in Thane district at 930 amLocal representatives and civic officials are expected to take part in these activities they saidDrain cleaning work to begin in MumbraThe statement said that following the cleanliness drives the drain cleaning work will be formally launched at 10 am at Amrut Nagar Nala in the Mumbra ward areaSenior civic officials including the mayor and municipal commissioner will be present at the eventFocus on citywide sanitationAccording to Deputy Commissioner of Solid Waste Management Madhukar Bodke the initiative aims to improve overall cleanliness and ensure proper drainage ahead of the monsoon seasonBMC accelerates Mithi River desiltingMeanwhile the BMC has intensified desilting operations across the Mithi River and key drainage networks with officials setting a firm deadline of May 31 2026 to complete the work ahead of the monsoonAdditional Municipal Commissioner Projects Abhijit Bangar has directed officials to accelerate desilting work across major and minor drains particularly at waterloggingprone locations He emphasized the need for structured planning including strict timelines for each drain with start and completion schedules to be made publicly accessible via a digital dashboardDaily targets have also been mandated to ensure timely completion while contractors have been instructed to provide realtime updates on machinery deployment as per tender conditionsField Inspections Across Key LocationsBangar conducted an onground inspection on April 3 reviewing ongoing desilting works in the Mithi River and eastern suburbs Under a threepackage plan work has commenced at five locations along the river Key sites inspected included stretches near the BandraKurla Complex BKC the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority office and areas near a prominent international school in the vicinityIn addition inspections were carried out at Boundary Nala in Mulund and Somaiya Nala in Ghatkopar where officials were directed to prioritise floodprone zones and coordinate closely with local representatives