City outskirts choke under garbage piles

Localities situated on the periphery of Amritsar, particularly those lying outside the bypass ring road, are facing miserable sanitary conditions as garbage lifting has remained disrupted for nearly a month. The stench of rotting waste and the sight of overflowing garbage heaps have become part of daily life for residents in these areas.

Following the termination of the previous solid waste management firm’s operations, the Municipal Corporation has made temporary arrangements by hiring a few former staff members on contract. However, with a limited number of vehicles and sanitation workers, the civic body has shifted its focus to maintaining cleanliness in the central parts of the city and key markets. The densely populated and economically weaker outer areas have been largely left out of this makeshift plan.

During a visit to Majitha Road and the adjoining areas outside the bypass road including Naushera village, the situation appeared alarming. Large heaps of garbage were seen along the roadsides, emitting strong stench and attracting stray animals. Private sanitation workers hired by residents or local councillors could be seen dumping the collected waste on nearby vacant plots or roadsides, further worsening the situation instead of resolving it. Similar scenes were witnessed on the main bypass stretch near Vallah and Khankot villages, where mounds of waste and plastic refuse lined the road. The absence of regular garbage lifting has turned these stretches into open dumping grounds.

Residents have expressed anger over what they call the Municipal Corporation’s discriminatory approach toward the city’s peripheral areas. Kartar Singh, a resident of Naushera village, said, “The main city areas are cleaned daily, but here no vehicle has come for weeks. We are forced to burn garbage or dump it along the road. The smell and flies make life unbearable.”

Manu Sharma, who lives near Majitha Road, echoed the sentiment. “The Municipal Corporation runs cleanliness drive in the city, but nothing was done in outer areas. Even councillors are using private tractors to remove waste. The civic body only remembers us when elections are near,” he said.