Mohali village suffers in absence of garbage dumping yard

With no designated dumping site for garbage, over 3,000 residents of Kansal village are forced to dump around five tonnes of waste on roadsides and other vacant areas per day.

Kansal-Kaimbwala Road is the worst affected as garbage remains littered at multiple spots on the stretch.

Rishu Bawa, a resident of the village, said the area has no dumping yard. “We are forced to dump it on roadsides and are suffering with each passing day,” he said.

Another resident Rajeev Verma said the condition was so bad that one fears to move out of their houses. “No sanitation work is conducted here which also poses a threat to the lives of residents as well to the environment. Stray dogs keep looking for food in the piles of garbage, posing a threat to the passersby,” he said. “A rise in the number of stray cattle has also led to an increase in the number of accidents.”

One more resident, Sachin Bhatiya, said that  garbage dumped on the roadsides goes into a rivulet flowing nearby, posing a threat of the outbreak of diseases in the area. “We fear that we may fall sick anytime,” he said.

‘GARBAGE NOT CLEARED DAILY BY MC’

Several locals complained that the garbage is not cleared on daily basis by the local municipal council (MC). “A pile of garbage remains gathered on the Kansal stretch. There are not enough dustbins on the stretch,” said Jatinder Verma, a local.

He also said, “There are only two dustbins installed in the village, one at Kansal-Kaimbwala Road and another at the entrance of the village. Most of the time, they remain completely packed with litter overflowing from them.”

Councillor of ward number 9, Sham Lal, said it was a grave issue and has been troubling all the residents. “Even as some dustbins have been installed on a vacant land near the Kansal cremation ground, residents continue to face the inconvenience. The issue has been taken up a number of times in the house meeting but nothing yielded.”

According to a councillor who wished not to be identified, Nayagaon MC has tied up with a private firm and is dumping the garbage in a private dumping yard in Lalru. “But for past sometime, issues related to the payment have halted the process of the lifting of garbage,” he said.   

Kansal is a VIP area where most of the politicians, police officers and businessmen have their residences. Nayagaon MC sanitary inspector Varinder Singh acknowledged that there was no garbage dumping yard. “The house had passed the proposal to look for a land for setting up of the yard but we are yet to get a nod from the government. Once we get approval, we will look for an alternate piece of land,” he said.