Gujarati Basti turns into a garbage dump as Amritsar MC looks the other way

PK Jaiswar

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 20

Residents of Gujarati Basti area are peeved over the apathetic attitude of the municipal corporation towards their area. For the past few years, they have been living in unhygienic conditions as the area has turned into a garbage dump.

The area falls in Ward No. 50 and is represented by Cabinet minister Om Parkash Soni who represents the Amritsar Central Constituency here. People say that repeated requests to the civic authorities and their political representatives have proved futile. The area is located along the road leading from the old vegetable market on the backside of Chitra talkies to Ram Bagh Chowk.

“As rain lashed the holy city in the morning, rainwater was accumulated on the street. The garbage mixed with rainwater turns into slush making it difficult for people move on roads,” said Raju, a resident of locality. Shopkeepers of the old vegetable market also dump their waste in the area. The foul smell emanating from the dump has become a nuisance for residents.

The municipal corporation should ensure that garbage is lifted from the area on a daily basis. However, MC employees never do this and turn a blind eye towards the plight of the residents. They come to lift garbage once in three months, he points out. A shopkeeper preferring not to be named said, “During the rains, it becomes difficult for us to sit in the shop due to a foul smell and mosquitoes. The dump is posing serious health hazards to thousands of residents in the locality.

“At a time when the country is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and cases are on the rise in the holy city, the district administration and the civic authorities have failed to show seriousness towards to the health of people,” said another resident Sunny.

The garbage collection system is very efficient in the holy city and if there is any such problem in the area, I will look into this. I assure the residents that their problems would be solved, said Mayor Karamjit Rintu.