Poor waste disposal hits local leaders’ chance at power

Mahesh Sharma

Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 22

As solid waste management remains a major unresolved issue here, local leaders of various political outfits including councillors have to cut a sorry figure during election campaigns in favour of their respective candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.

While heaps of garbage at designated places used as dumps welcome cavalcades of candidates and their supporters, garbage remaining uncollected from domestic and commercial units by the sanitation department for days at end makes the occupants suffer.

With the authorities at the municipal council having failed to make adequate arrangements for strengthening solid waste management, sanitary staff feels sandwiched between various councillors, owing allegiance to different political parties, as everyone wants removal of garbage from their area first.

Residents alleged the authorities at the municipal council had failed to resolve the long-pending issue of solid waste management at the local town and surrounding localities. Religious places, educational institutes and healthcare centres are the worst affected as garbage accumulates for days at end, causing much agony to devotees, students and patients.

Residents have urged the civic body to ensure the issue is resolved once and for all so they can live a dignified life in a clean environment.

Justifying demands raised by the residents, Sanitary Inspector Hussan Lal said the situation had arisen due to scarcity of space for shifting garbage collected from homes and commercial establishments. “Lack of concern of residents towards segregation of litter at source has resulted in a situation wherein owners of plots hired for dumping garbage, have stopped allowing filling their pits with un-segregated litter,” said Lal, adding the situation will normalise soon as the municipal council had prepared a segregator which will expedite disposal of garbage collected at local dumps daily.

The sanitary department is also on toes implementing suggestions given by the PMIDC (Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company) Director Puran Singh during a surprise inspection held recently.