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Ludhiana | NGOs stage ‘selfie’ protest slamming MC failure to stop dumping of waste in open
Taking a dig at the Ludhiana MC for failing to establish construction and demolition (C and D) waste plant, members of different NGOs staged a ‘selfie’ protest
Taking a dig at the municipal corporation (MC) for failing to establish construction and demolition (C and D) waste plant in the city, members of different non-governmental organisations (NGO)s staged a ‘selfie point’ protest at the vacant land filled with C and D waste near Dugri canal bridge on Sunday.
The protesting members took selfies with the rubble and lambasted the civic body over its failure in solid waste management in the city.
The project to establish a C and D plant under smart city mission, has been stuck in the development stage for over five years despite the MC being criticised by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The protesting members of different NGOs Kapil Arora, Kuldeep Khaira, Jaskirat Singh, Gurpal Grewal among others said the same reflected poorly on the city and the illegal practice of dumping the waste in the open adds to pollution.
Council of Engineers president Arora said, earlier in 2019, the civic body had also finalised six sites in different parts of the city to dump the C and D waste, but the waste can still be seen dumped in green belts and plots in Model Town extension, Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar, Focal point, Giaspura, Haibowal among other areas.
A Model Town extension, Block-C resident, Gurwinder Singh said, “We are witnessing the similar filthy conditions at the roadsides of Ishmeet Singh road (cremation ground road) in Model Town extension for a long time. Despite repeated complaints, the authorities have failed to take any action. It is a blot on the face of the city’s posh area, even as the authorities make tall claims regarding swachh bharat mission.”
Despite attempts to reach the MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, he remained unavailable for comments.
An MC official, meanwhile, said work orders were issued for setting up machinery in July last year, but the work order for civil works has been done recently, adding that the machinery cannot be installed without completing the civil works.
The official said the civil works got delayed due to imposition of the model code of conduct and the construction work is expected to start in the coming days
MC’s failure to affect the Swachh Survekshan-2022 ranking:
The failure of MC in establishing the plant could impact the city’s ranking in the Swachh Survekshan 2022.
The city had dropped five spots and was ranked 39 out of 48 cities across the country last year, but the MC is still lagging behind on the majority of the fronts pertaining to solid waste management.
