Civil Lines residents pay to clean garbage as MC fails

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 16

The poor working of Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) sanitation workers has made residents pay from their own pockets to get their area cleaned.

Irked over poor sanitation conditions in the area and poor working of the municipal corporation, the Civil Lines Resident Welfares’ Association has initiated a drive to create awareness to make the area clean and green.

The residents gathered at the park this morning after which they went door to door asking residents to keep their area outside their house clean.

It is worth mentioning that in the last 10 days, the residents of the area have got the area cleaned three times at their own expenses by calling trolleys on rent.

Residents have questioned as to where they should dump the garbage in the area as there is no designated place marked by the MCB where residents can dump the garbage. Even dustbins have not been installed in the area.

The major problem faced by the residents is dumping of garbage at various places in the Civil Lines area from nearby area residents and not lifting and cleaning of the garbage by municipal corporation on a regular basis and effectively.

Apart from this, even JITF company workers, after collecting door to door garbage, dump the garbage by the roadside at various locations in the area.

Residents say they have repeatedly lodged complaints with MCB officials over this issue, but they have failed to resolve this issue, due to which we were left with no option but to start this drive on their own.

They say whenever they complain to the MCB over this issue, they reply that there is a lot of green waste generated in this area, which they can’t pick.

Residents questioned the MC that if they will not pick up, then who will pick this waste as people are affected due to this and even huge piles of garbage at various locations has become an eyesore.

Former Mayor and municipal councillor of the area Baljit Singh Birbehman also accompanied and urged the residents to keep the area clean.

Baljit Singh Birbehman said, “This is a major and serious issue, which should be addressed on priority.”

Vineet Malhotra, secretary of the Civil Lines Residents’ Welfare Association, said, “This is one of the posh areas in the city, but sanitation conditions here are very poor, due to which we have initiated a drive and today door to door campaign was held to create awareness among the residents itself to improve the sanitation condition.”

Residents Shivdev Singh, Harinder Singh Sra, Ashutosh Chander, Amarinder Singh Sidhu, Dr Akhtiar Singh Gill, Kanwar Bhim Singh and others were present.