Bins removed, garbage strewn in 5,000 places

Fear of mosquitoes as rainwater collect in uncleared trash

After battling floods and sludge recently, city residents are yet to get a respite. They are now fighting the mosquito menace, owing to open garbage dumps. Residents are complaining that GHMC is neither deploying staff to pick garbage from households, nor is it clearing trash dumped on roadsides.

Earlier, there had been about 800 open dumps within the city limits. But their number has gone up to 5,000 now. “Waste dumps in various open areas have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Foul smell emanating from them is unbearable,” said Vivek Rajeev, a resident of Kapra.

“None of GHMC workers has come to clean garbage since Sunday, resulting in rapid rise of mosquitoes and houseflies behind Rajeshwari theatre in Monda market,” Sharan Kumar living in the area pointed out.

“Please reintroduce garbage bins. We have nowhere to throw the garbage except in open. But GHMC personnel are not clearing the same regularly. Swachh auto tippers who are supposed to pick the garbage are not to be seen,” said Krishna Muvvala, a resident of Khairatabad.

According to a preliminary survey, the number of garbage vulnerable points has increased from

1,110 to 1,800. Open dumping sites have increased from 1,000 to 1,500. Garbage overflow has been noticed at another

1,500 places from where garbage bins have been removed. This has happened despite GHMC reportedly deploying 3,000 Swachh auto tippers to collect garbage from residential and commercial buildings on a regular basis.

An inquiry by civic authorities has revealed that swachh autos, which are supposed to collect dry and wet garbage from households, are not collecting them on a regular basis due to lack of coordination between health and sanitation officials. The situation has turned worse since a week.

When contacted, an official said the corporation needs to increase the number of swachh auto tippers from 2,400 to 5,000. The GHMC will conduct a survey to know the reasons for open dumping of garbage and irregular visits of swachh auto tippers, he stated.

"Based on requirement, additional staff and auto tippers will be deployed in the next one week to collect garbage multiple times in a day, particularly from commercial areas, to make the city hygienic. Action will be initiated against supervisors if they are found negligent," the official added.