SANITATION IN DUMPS BUT SWACHH GLITTERING

Is Swachh Survekshan flattering to deceive? That’s more the case than GHMC would like to believe.

Residents across the city complain about irregularity of Swachh auto-tippers and are forced to dump garbage on the roadside. They say that the GHMC’s tall claims that its efforts have made the city cleaner than ever before are not true and the situation is vastly different.

Even the municipal administration and urban development minister K. T. Rama Rao expressed displeasure at the state of sanitation in the city at many forums, and instructed the staff to not get carried away by cleanliness awards and instead focus on improving sanitation in the city. But even the minister’s instructions fell in deaf ears.

Sharing her experience, K. Padmavathi, a resident of Nagarjunanagar in Tarnaka, said that the residents in the locality keep dumping garbage on the roadside, making the place a breeding ground for mosquitoes and stray dogs. She said the stench emanating from the mounds of garbage lying for days together was making breathing difficult.

“We have a massive mosquito problem all year round, and frequently complain about this to GHMC officials, but it doesn’t care to look into the issue,” she said.

Echoing her concern, M.D. Nizam, a resident of Dabeerpura, said that Swachh campaign tippers rarely clear garbage from the area, leave aside door-to-door collection.

Residents have no go but to dump household waste at a vacant plot near a community hall in the area, he said.

“Garbage is not cleared here on a regular basis. The cleaning staff ignored the area for reasons best known to them. If this continues, we could fall prey to infectious diseases.”