Sena MLA seeks to free villagers from filth, stench
Villagers have threatened to agitate against Mira-Bhayandar civic body; say they will boycott upcoming Lok Sabha polls
Shiv Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik has asked the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to take immediate remedial measures providing permanent relief to local villagers from the stench emanating from the dumping yard in Dhavgi Village near Uttan, Bhayandar. Irate over the menace, villagers have threatened to launch an agitation against the MBMC and also boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Sarnaik in his letter to the MBMC highlighted several points, including developing a landfill site specifically to process inert material, mainly bulk refuse originating from construction, demolition, renovation and redevelopment projects, and commissioning of mechanical composting projects of various capacities at four places. He said this will reduce the existing burden by 100 metric tonne and decentralise the waste managing system through mini-bio glass plants, which ensure a significant reduction in the quantum of wet waste ferried to the unified process plant. As per his letter, this will also prove as an asset in sustainable energy transition and accelerate the bio-mining work to process unsegregated garbage (legacy waste).
“Villagers from Uttan and the surrounding areas have been subjected to immense hardships since 2017 due to the foul stench and poisonous gas emanating from the dump yard due to frequent fires. Apart from Rs40.66 crore and Rs8.73 for the bio-mining and inter-landfill projects, the government has allocated Rs50 crore for mechanical composting after my follow-ups. The MBMC needs to contribute its minimal share and execute all these projects on a priority basis,” said Sarnaik.
Apart from 550 tonne of garbage, an additional quantity of more than 10 tonne is generated by the twin-city in the form of industrial and biomedical waste. However, the segregation figures continue to hover below 55%, which impacts garbage processing as the lone plant in Uttan can only handle segregated waste limited to just 150 metric tonne per day.
The unsegregated waste has transformed into a trash mountain and is rising every passing day, villagers rue. Moreover, farmlands and water bodies in coastal areas are being contaminated and subjected to irreparable damage due to leachate water trickling down the hillside.