Patiala struggles with post-Diwali waste

The city wore an unkempt look after Diwali, with heaps of garbage — including empty sweet boxes and burnt firecracker waste — dumped across roads and public areas.

The mess was particularly visible near Guru Teg Bahadur School in Tripuri, where collected waste was set on fire, and along Bhupindra Road, where rubbish fell off moving trucks.

Municipal data shows the city generates around 220 tonnes of waste daily, which rose to 225 tonnes during the festive season. However, the Municipal Corporation’s (MC) processing capacity stands at only 195 tonnes per day. Of the total waste, 133 tonnes are wet and 86 tonnes dry.

The MC Health Officer, Dr Navinder Singh, said the civic body had reduced the number of garbage collection points from 42 to 18. “Garbage collection is being done on a war footing, and all littered waste will be lifted and transported to the dump site soon,” he said.

The city would soon have five static compactors at separate locations, with one already installed near Modi Mandir. The MC has also earmarked three acres of land to enable 100 per cent waste processing once the new facility becomes operational.

Sources said the city’s solid waste management plant is functioning at a “snail’s pace”, prompting authorities to consider transferring the contract to another firm.

The waste site near Sanauri Adda — in existence for over 55 years — remains one of the city’s major civic challenges. A remediation plant, installed at a cost of Rs 6.8 crore, was set up to tackle the health and environmental hazards caused by the dump.

The site is being managed by M/s Sagar Motors of Latur, Maharashtra. The agency has been instructed to expedite the disposal of legacy waste and ensure compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

City resident Sanjeev Kumar had earlier approached the National Green Tribunal over frequent fires and foul odours from the site, demanding faster processing of solid waste.

Newly appointed MC Commissioner Paramjit Singh said efforts were under way to streamline the lifting, collection and processing of solid waste.

Meanwhile, garbage-strewn streets were seen across Kila Chowk, Safabadi Gate, Nabha Gate and Sanauri Adda, where residents were forced to cover their faces due to the stench. Plastic waste, vegetable refuse and construction debris were also spotted in residential areas.

“The issue of garbage has been raised several times, but nothing has changed,” said Balwinder Singh, a resident of the Factory Area.

AAP MLA Ajitpal Singh Kohli said he had taken up the matter with the MC Commissioner.

The MC is currently carrying out bioremediation of 263 metric tonnes of legacy waste daily, against an installed capacity of 1,000 tonnes. Officials said the civic body must clear around 1.43 lakh tonnes of accumulated waste.

The situation was no better in Rajpura and Nabha, where heaps of garbage remained uncleared after the festival. In Nabha — already battling a dengue outbreak — residents complained of an unbearable stench from the littered waste. “Earlier, it was waterlogging that caused dengue; now garbage is inviting new problems,” said Sunil Kumar, a local resident.

Pardeep Kumar from Rajpura voiced a similar concern: “We pay taxes, but clean roads and proper garbage disposal remain a distant dream.”

Sources in the Nabha Municipal Council blamed poor civic management for the worsening situation, claiming that sanitation and fogging drives had been disrupted since Council chief Sujata Chawla’s husband, Pankaj Kumar Pappu, was booked in a theft case. With pending bills and stalled payments, garbage collection and mosquito-control operations have nearly come to a halt.