Residents sore as MC starts dumping garbage in Verka area

The mess created by the prevailing standoff at Bhagtanwala and Fatahpur and the resultant non-availability of an alternate landfill site to dump garbage has also taken Verka area, already affected by myriad civic problems, in its spate as the Amritsar municipal corporation has started dumping the city's waste at a vacant space near a school there, triggering protests.

The mess created by the prevailing standoff at Bhagtanwala and Fatahpur and the resultant non-availability of an alternate landfill site to dump garbage has also taken Verka area, already affected by myriad civic problems, in its spate as the Amritsar municipal corporation has started dumping the city's waste at a vacant space near a school there, triggering protests.

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The protests were staged not just by residents, but also by the management, staff and students of the private school in whose vicinity the garbage is being dumped. The protests, however, went unheeded and the MC continues to dump garbage there much to the annoyance of the residents.

Consisting by and large of slums and undeveloped localities, Verka is already beset by various problems, including unsanitary conditions, contaminated water supply, jaundice and increasing population of stray dogs and the resultant cases of dog bites.
The area lacks sewerage system, which is considered to be one of the main reasons for the supply of contaminated water to a majority of its homes and the consequent cases of jaundice. However, none of the local politicians have given a serious thought to recycling the waste.

In the absence of sewerage systems, the residents have dug their own cesspits, which are almost at the same level as their potable water supply and quite close to it, resulting in mixing of the two. Contamination leads to life threatening diseases, of which jaundice is the most commonly reported ailment in the area.