Ghaila village stinks as LMC ‘sits over’ waste bioremediation
MOUNTAIN OF FILTH Spread over 661 hectares, the village – once a clean place – is a huge garbage dumpyard; locals face severe health hazards due to polluted air and water
LUCKNOW: Residents of Ghaila village, located about 20km from Lucknow, are forced to live in the midst of filth and stink despite the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order for bioremediation of 30 lakh metric tonne of waste dumped there by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) during the past 20 years.
Ghaila is an example of poor solid waste management, official apathy and lack of environmental understanding among the civic agencies, alleged locals.
Spread over 661 hectares, the village -- once a clean place -- is a huge garbage dump yard today. Its population of 3,323 people has no choice but to pay the price of living in the proximity of a bustling city like the state capital.
“The LMC dumped waste without caring about the 519 households here. As a result, we are facing severe health hazards due to polluted air and water,” said a local.
Meanwhile, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has also asked the LMC to vacate the area, saying the land belongs to them. LDA officials said that the land was to be used for an upcoming housing project.
Environment engineer, LMC, Pankaj Bhushan, said, “The municipal corporation tried to get bioremediation done at the site through the tender process. It invited expression of interest proposals from companies specialising in solid waste management. However, the three companies that showed interest in the work were demanding ₹50 crore for the job. The LMC, on the other hand, is willing to pay just ₹17 crore. If we don’t find suitable options, the LMC will perform bioremediation on its own.”
Bioremediation is a process used to treat contaminated media, including water, soil and subsurface material.
Unable to bear the stink and filth that seems to be piling up on them, villagers said they had been protesting against this continuous waste dumping for years but the local administration and the LMC never paid heed to their demands.
“Only after the interference of the NGT and the Pollution Control Board, the LMC promised to perform bioremediation. However, they have been sitting over the task for six months now,” complained Subhash Singh, a resident of Ghaila.
“Stopping the dumping of waste is not enough. We need immediate treatment of this waste,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bhushan said that the Lucknow Development Authority had plans to go for composting of waste -- a natural process of decomposing and recycling waste materials into humus-rich soil -- through successive action of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and earthworms.
“Many materials can be composted on-site but many cannot. Those that can be composted are food wastes, leaves, grass, plant trimmings, straw, shredded paper, animal manure and municipal solid wastes. But plastic, polythene and biomedical waste cannot be composted. These will be taken to different units for decomposition,” said Bhushan.