Pune: MIT ADT Students Suspend ‘Garbage Stop’ Protest for 7 Days, Set Deadline for Gram Panchayats Over Mula-Mutha River Dumping
Loni-Kalbhor, 5th March 2026: Students of MIT Art, Design and Technology University have temporarily suspended their ‘Garbage Stop’ protest for seven days after successful mediation by Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Rajkumar Shinde. The protest was launched demanding an immediate halt to the illegal dumping of untreated waste into the Mula-Mutha river, considered the lifeline of Pune city.
Dr Rajkumar Shinde, along with Assistant Commissioner of Police Anuradha Udamale from Loni-Kalbhor, visited the protest site and intervened after recognising the seriousness of the issue. Following the discussions, the students agreed to suspend the protest temporarily and granted a seven-day deadline to the Loni-Kalbhor and Kadamwakvasti Gram Panchayats to initiate a proper waste management project.
For the time being, tractors carrying segregated wet and dry waste have been allowed to pass through the university premises towards the riverbed. However, students have clearly warned that if the issue is not resolved within seven days and the practice of directly dumping waste into the Mula-Mutha river continues, garbage vehicles belonging to both Gram Panchayats will not be allowed to pass through the university campus.
The discussion was attended by MIT ADT University Executive President Prof Dr Mangesh Karad, former sarpanches, gram sevaks, Gram Panchayat members and present and former Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti members from Loni-Kalbhor and Kadamwakvasti.
Thousands of students and residential staff from MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul, MIT Junior College and MIT ADT University participated in the protest. The protesters raised strong slogans highlighting the seriousness of the issue, potential environmental risks in the future, the existence of the Mula-Mutha river, the apathy of local Gram Panchayats towards environmental concerns and the alleged negligence of local and district authorities in addressing the matter.
Following the protest, garbage vehicles belonging to Loni-Kalbhor and Kadamwakvasti Gram Panchayats remained stranded at the university entrance until 3 pm on Thursday. Eventually, after police mediation, the vehicles were granted temporary permission to pass through the university premises towards the riverbed.
Earlier, a massive fire had broken out in heaps of garbage dumped in the riverbed on February 26, 2026. The fire continued to smoulder for nearly four days, releasing thick toxic smoke in the surrounding areas. As a result, six to seven students from the MIT ADT academic campus experienced breathing difficulties due to suffocation and had to be admitted to a nearby hospital.
The incident caused severe respiratory problems for students, staff and residents in the surrounding areas. Following this, students took the initiative to launch the ‘Garbage Stop’ protest demanding an end to the dumping of waste into the river.
“For the past several years, waste has been directly dumped into the Mula-Mutha river without any segregation. The accumulated garbage frequently catches fire, causing severe air pollution and breathing problems for students. Therefore, we initiated the ‘Garbage Stop’ protest and blocked garbage vehicles from the two local Gram Panchayats.
However, following a request from the Deputy Commissioner of Police, we have temporarily suspended the protest and given the Gram Panchayats seven days to resolve the issue. If dumping of waste in the river continues after that, we will again block the vehicles,” said Dadasaheb Bhosure, student representative.
