MUMBAI, May 19 -- Every monsoon, when the first lashings of rain submerges parts of the city, the civic body is censured for its laxity in desilting the nullahs. However, the nullah cleaning by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the eastern suburbs this year has exposed citizen apathy - amid the giant masses of junk, which include streams of plastic, garbage and others forms of refuse, conservancy staff on Sunday extracted household goods such as luggage, tables, beds, mattresses, sofas and refrigerators, and even an autorickshaw at one spot. This was witnessed with only 20% of the desilting work being achieved in Zone V, said people on ground. Zone V covers the eastern suburbs from Mulund to the Kurla-Chembur belt. 125 major nullahs and drains fall in this line. The delay, officials say, is not merely due to administrative hurdles but also because of the enormous quantity of debris and discarded household items choking the drains. On Sunday the household waste was extracted from major channels such as the Safed Pul drain at Satya Nagar pipeline's nullah number 10 in Kurla, nullah number 14 in Saki Naka, and the Govandi-Mankhurd nullah. In several stretches, particularly in Mankhurd and Govandi, the water in the drains was seen to have turned green due to dumping of industrial waste. Sharad Yadav, a veteran RTI activist, who monitors BMC's desilting work and has raised issues of civic lacunae intermittently, blamed both anti-social elements and political patronage for the deteriorating condition around the drains. "Right next to the drain, a major water pipeline is clearly visible which supplies drinking water to the residents of Mumbai. This entire area is overrun with unauthorised warehouses and garages for scrap vehicles. The common Mumbaikar is suffering due to such anti-social elements, who are actively patronized by local political leaders," he said. A senior official from the storm water drains (SWD) department overseeing the eastern suburbs put the blame on residents who, he said, have been treating nullahs as dumping grounds. "People are dumping vehicles and discarded household goods, apart from industrial waste - right from Saki Naka at Safed Pul nullah to Mulund. This is posing a major challenge for us in the cleaning activity," the official said, reminding how even last year pre-monsoon showers had led to flooding at Saki Naka because drains were clogged with dumped waste. The situation is equally alarming in the Govandi-Mankhurd belt, where industrial discharge has severely polluted the nullah giving it a distinct green hue. "Mankhurd-Govandi nullah too has turned green in colour today," the official said, pointing to oil industries in close proximity and sewage from the nearby slums being discharged into the nullah. "Industrial effluents are eventually released into Thane Creek," he added. To drive home the scale of the problem, civic officials ensured that every large object removed from the drains on Sunday was photographed. "I hope people realise how irresponsible they are being when they see these pictures," the official remarked. The BMC has also warned that it will intensify action against those dumping waste into drains, with offenders facing fines ranging between Rs.200 and Rs.5,000 depending on the size of the object discarded. While the rule is in place, officials admitted that enforcement remains weak in the slum pockets. "The nuisance detectors from SWD are not effective. They are unable to keep a watch on dense slums. The residents have no civic sense as they are uneducated," the official from SWD department said. Additional municipal commissioner (projects), Abhijeet Bangar, however countered reports of only 20% of desilting work being complete, insisting that 44% of the work has been done in Zone V. Underlining the scale of the problem, with household goods emerging from the clean-up, Bangar said: "BMC has decided to install wire mesh barriers along major nullahs in Mankhurd, Deonar and Kurla to prevent waste from being thrown into the drains. While bulky objects such as sofa sets and autorickshaws can still be manually removed, this is a clear example of citizen apathy, though poor solid waste collection systems in slum pockets may also contribute to the problem." Meanwhile, the reason behind the sluggish desilting work is due to a shortage of contractors, as many are unwilling to undertake the job following the SIT inquiry into the Mithi river desilting scam. Officials said, several contractors are wary of legal scrutiny and police action. "We had to extend our dates after inviting tenders four times. Despite our please and request, there have been no takers for desilting in Zone Z," the official said....