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Miffed at inaction over garbage dumping, Ludhiana NGOs invite MLA to visit open dump
Several Ludhiana-based NGOs, under the banner of Public Action Committee (PAC), have planned a protest at the open garbage dump in Shivpuri area
At a time when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs can be seen inaugurating different development works, different non-governmental organisations (NGO) took a jibe at the legislators over the continued dumping of garbage in the open, inviting Ludhiana (North) MLA Madan Lal Bagga to a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday for removal of the secondary garbage dump in Shivpuri area near Kamla Lohtia SD college.
Council of Engineers president Kapil Arora said that it is an open invitation and a whatsapp message regarding the invitation has been sent to the MLA, adding that the aim was to bring attention to the issue.
The NGOs, under the banner of Public Action Committee (PAC), have planned a protest at the open garbage dump in Shivpuri area from 9.30am to 11 am on Sunday. Notably, they have been staging weekly ‘selfie point’ protests against the dumping of garbage in the open at different parts of the city.
Activist Kuldeep Khaira said the MLAs have been inaugurating development projects across the city, but they should also fulfil the responsibility of getting the garbage dumps removed.
“The councillors have failed to perform their duty and now our eyes are on the newly elected MLAs. We will wait for MLA Bagga at the protest site for the ribbon cutting ceremony. The residents are irked by the unhygienic conditions prevailing in the areas where open garbage dumps are situated but the public representatives are not paying heed to the problem,” Khaira said, adding that the project to install static compactors has been long overdue and this kind of protests will also be organised against other MLAs in the city.
NGO members also lambasted the municipal corporation (MC) and area councillors for their alleged failure in dealing with the problem, which has been troubling the residents for a long time. There are around three dozen open garbage dumping sites (secondary dump points of MC) in the city.
Naroa Punjab Manch member Jaskirat Singh said they have been protesting for long, but authorities have failed to come up with a concrete solid waste management plan in the city, adding “These protests are a way to catch the eyes of the public representatives and it is high time that MLAs should also inaugurate projects to remove open garbage dumping sites from the city.”
Despite attempts, MLA Bagga remained unavailable for comments.
