Even as residents deep cleaned their houses ahead of the festival of lights, heaps of garbage continued to be an eyesore at secondary dumping sites and along roads after the municipal corporation’s mega cleanliness drive phased out after Diwali on November 4.
The accumulated garbage spread across the roads in Shivpuri, Dugri, and Model Town among other areas disturbing the flow of traffic on Saturday. Residents, shopkeepers and commuters also faced a harrowing time. The foul smell that pervaded the area also added to locals’ woes. Shopkeepers have been raising the issue of open dumping time and again, but to no avail.
The mega cleanliness drive that had been launched with much fanfare on November 1, ahead of Diwali, has not helped rein in open dumping of garbage across the city. Besides, the MC’s tall claims of installing static compactors under the Smart City Mission have also fallen flat.
The proprietor of a shop near the Shivpuri dumpsite, Sandeep, said, “The dump occupies a portion of the road. As large amounts of trash are dumped at the site it eventually spreads out, littering the roads and the area around our shops. The unhygienic conditions affects both – our health and our business.”
“When we take up the matter with MC officials, they ask us to name an alternative site. The staff deputed at the dump site also misbehaves with residents,” he alleged.
{{/usCountry}}“When we take up the matter with MC officials, they ask us to name an alternative site. The staff deputed at the dump site also misbehaves with residents,” he alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Mayor Balkar Sandhu and municipal corporation commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal had also inspected the different dump sites across the district, including the defunct static compactor site near the Dugri Canal Bridge on November 2 and directed authorities to expedite the process to lifting the garbage on a daily basis.
A resident of Guru Gyan Vihar, Gurmeet Singh, said,” Heaps of garbage can be seen at Dugri Point on any given day. Authorities claim that the compactors have developed a snag, which shows their lackadaisical approach. As the dump site is situated near the traffic lights, it is difficult to stand at the signal due to the foul smell.”
Officials, however, say that around 1,100 metric tons of garbage is generated in the city on a daily basis, which increases to over 1,700 metric tonnes on Diwali, which increases the pressure on dump sites.
MC health officer Vipal Malhotra said, “Though half-day leave was given to the staff on Diwali and Vishwakarma Day, but the lifting process was not hit. On Saturday, too, MC staff and the contractor company’s staff were lifting the garbage from different points. Work will continue till midnight to clear the dump sites.”
The city has around 40 secondary dump sites. The waste collected from houses is dumped at the secondary dump sites, from where it is shifted to the main dump site of the MC at Tajpur Road.