Open garbage dumps, stench make life difficult for Panchkula residents

Panchkula, June 10

Dumping of garbage adjacent to marketplaces and at other roadside spots on a daily basis has become an eyesore for residents of Panchkula. Despite having a 300-strong workforce to pick up the waste from households and to clear the temporary dumping sites, Municipal Corporation Panchkula has failed to put an end to the practice of open dumping till date. The corporation blames it on unregulated waste pickers.

The city produces roughly 200 tonnes of household waste daily. A number of places in the city are used as temporary points to dump garbage. This includes an open site near the marketplace in Sector 17, a site adjacent to Haryana Roadways workshop in industrial area and another on the separating road of Sectors 8 and 9 among others.

According to residents, the dumping of garbage in the open has become an everyday affair, which gives a dirty look to their areas, besides raising a stink.

Parveen, a resident of Sector 17, said, “Garbage is dumped in the marketplace here everyday. Piles of unsegregated waste starts emerging by the afternoon. Soon, it takes the shape of a small dumping site. This is a matter of public concern as the area then starts to stink.”

A visit to the area showed that the waste was being dumped in the open by irregular waste pickers while large dumping bins of the Municipal Corporation lay there unused.

In a similar way, garbage is dumped near the Haryana Roadways workshop in the industrial area of the city and adjacent to the separating road of Sectors 8 and 9.

Workers standing outside the Haryana Roadways workshop said, “Dumping of garbage waste here is an everyday affair. A strong stench emanates from the piles in the area.”

Residents pointed out that they had complained to the municipal corporation against irregular dumping of waste outside their residential areas. “They said they can only lift the waste whenever given a call. But the problem persists on a regular basis,” Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Sector 9, said.

As per officials in the MC, there are as many as 35 such small dumping sites in the city. “The waste is dumped at the sites by irregular waste pickers. We have provided a service of lifting waste from households through a contract signed with a private company. We also have a workforce of over 300 workers, including garbage pickers, drivers among others, but many residents opt not to use our services for ease and instead provide the waste to irregular waste pickers,” Chief Sanitary Inspector Avinash Singla said.

He said there were over 96 such collection points two years ago. “With time we have managed to reduce the numbers to 35. But the waste continues to pile up at some other the spots due to failure of residents to provide the waste to regular waste pickers,” he said.

He added that the residents could file complaints regarding open dumping of garbage waste to the MC and the litter would be cleared within two hours.