Garbage, debris dumped on rly land irk residents

Ravneet Singh

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Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 22

Garbage, debris and tree logs mixed with sand are being dumped on the low lying land of the Railways, adjacent to the tracks near the railway crossings No. 23-24 in the city. Earlier, garbage was found dumped in fish ponds at Sheesh Mahal Colony.

The Railways is carrying out the work of doubling rail tracks under the Rajpura-Bathinda railway line project. While the doubling work is in progress on one side, garbage and debris are being dumped on the low-lying area at the opposite side.

Residents of the area, who contacted The Tribune, said, “We have been seeing tippers filled with garbage dumping it here for the past few days. We also tried to dissuade drivers of the vehicles from doing so, but to no avail. The land belongs to the Railways. Drivers should be questioned whether they are allowed by the Railways to dump garbage in the area.”

Another resident of Model Town said, “Garbage dumped here emanates foul smell. It is deliberately mixed with debris and sand. On one hand the Municipal Corporation advocates cleanliness and segregation of garbage and on the other waste is dumped on government land in the city.”

Moreover, the dumped garbage is spread across the stretch between railway crossings No. 23 and 24.

The station superintendent (SS), Patiala, AK Meena, said “The engineering branch knows about the civil and engineering works.”

The senior divisional engineer (Sr DEN), Ambala Division, Northern Railways, Rajinder Garg, said, “The work of doubling the rail track is in progress. Debris and garbage have been dumped at the site by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), the department executing the project. We have directed the RVNL to get it removed.”

Meanwhile, the district administration and the Municipal Corporation have not been able to remove garbage dumped in fish ponds at Sheesh Mahal Colony.