The same old story at Dadu Majra
Sandeep Rana
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 16
Ask Dadu Majra colony residents what the ongoing “Swachhta hi Sewa” campaign of the local Municipal Corporation means to them. The nationwide “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” campaign has little meaning to the residents, who live near the Dadu Majra dumping ground, where a major chunk of waste of the entire city is dumped.
Their lives have become “hell” with the foul smell emanating from the dumping ground giving rise to a number of diseases, especially respiratory problems.
With the Municipal Corporation and the JP firm failing to reach any major consensus regarding the treatment of the garbage, the open waste continues to be a source of trouble for them. The matter is pending with the National Green Tribunal.
The residents said the MC had failed to spray lime power to get rid of the unbearable smell. It has also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects, giving rise to various diseases.
Chandigarh generates about 450 tonnes of waste daily.
JP plant in-charge Col KJS Sandhu (retd) said: “We are taking around 250 tonnes of garbage for processing every day. The remaining garbage is being sent to the dumping ground.”
The officials, however, said the company was taking about 100 tonnes to 125 tonnes of garbage daily for processing.
Earlier, when residents protested outside the plant, they were given three months’ time by Mayor Asha Jaswal for setting up a compost plant saying that no waste will be thrown in the dumping ground thereafter. During these three months, the Mayor had assured them that medicine would be sprayed and waste would be filled with mud/soil.
“No spraying has been done to date. Even soil has also not been put over the waste. We were told that the area will be levelled with soil, but it proved to be a mere eyewash. In fact, the situation has now become worse,” said Harjinder Singh, chairman of the Residents’ Welfare Association.
“People are suffering from respiratory problems, mainly asthma, due to the dumping site. This Swachh Abhiyan is meaningless for us. Officials should come here if they are really interested in cleanliness. CCTV cameras should be installed here to keep a check on those dumping waste here. We will protest if the situation does not change after the given time,” he said.
Kuldeep Dhalor, president, Residents’ Welfare Association, said: “If the issue is highlighted in newspapers then they spray lime solution or use bulldozer the next day as a formality. They never bother to come back again.”
However, MC Medical Officer of Health Parminder Singh Bhatti said: “We are following standard operating procedure there. We are spraying PM solutions to prevent odour and insects. We are also managing the malba and mud well. We have especially engaged an inspector for this work.”
Source of trouble
With the Municipal Corporation and the JP firm failing to reach any major consensus regarding the treatment of the garbage, the open waste continues to be a source of trouble for residents. The matter is pending with the National Green Tribunal.
Promises that are yet to be fulfilled
- Spraying medicine at garbage dumping ground
- Covering waste at dumping ground with soil
- Levelling the dumping ground
- Installing CCTV cameras to keep a check how much waste is thrown and how much waste is being processed
"The MC has failed to spray lime power to get rid of unbearable smell. The dumping ground has also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects, giving rise to various diseases." — Dadu Majra residents
