Cleanliness takes a back seat

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 18

With the closure of over 19 garbage collection sites in various wards in the past two months, the Swachh Bharat project appear to have been dumped by the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar, in the city.

As the city is already fighting a ‘cleanliness war’ due to a shortage of garbage collection points, the closure of the existing sites due to political pressure has added to the woes of civic body officials and residents.

According to an official, political leaders have created an uproar over the presence of garbage collection points in their areas. The official said to appease their voters, they had promised them in the recently held Assembly elections to get these removed after coming to power.

“Without realising the future consequences or granting any other place to make a garbage collection point, we were asked to close the exiting sites with immediate effect,” said one of the officials of the civic body on the condition of anonymity.

The points that were closed recently were in Ward No. 40, 48, 46 and 43. Over 12 garbage points were already closed in various wards.

Slamming the MC’s move, sanitation workers said they face helplessness in lifting the garbage in the absence of an identified lifting point.

“We just can’t roam around in the area to collect garbage wherever it is thrown by the people. We can only lift it from the routes and picking points identified by the civic body,” said a worker.

He added that while there were 105 garbage collection points, the number had reduced to 35 in the city.