Mankhurd’s Cheetah Camp residents say stench of wet trash removed from nullah and dumped on road is unbearable; civic body promises to act; according to locals, as the BMC has been dumping garbage removed in drain-cleaning activities at the same spot over the past few weeks
Garbage removed from the Cheetah Camp nullah on July 2 sits on the road on Monday. PICS/SAYYED SAMEER ABEDI
Despite the authorities telling this newspaper more than three weeks ago that garbage removed from the Mankhurd’s Cheetah Camp nullah — which had been left at the side of the drain — would be removed within a week, mounds of trash could still be seen standing at the same spot on Monday even as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) trucks could be seen collecting regular waste from the area.
Asif Sayyed, a local activist involved in clean-up activities with Dharmesh Barai from the Environment Life Foundation, told mid-day, “We have been waiting for someone to come and take the garbage away to a dumping ground, but nothing has changed. The trash pile is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and diseases. How are we supposed to live next to it?”
The relatively clear drain, which was recently cleaned by the BMC
“Rainwater has been seeping into the garbage, creating an unbearable stench. We have to hold our breath while walking by,” said a local, requesting anonymity. According to locals, as the BMC has been dumping garbage removed in drain-cleaning activities at the same spot over the past few weeks, the trash heap has only grown larger.
When the nullah was cleaned by the civic body earlier this month, between June 28 and July 2, some of the garbage under a bridge was left where it was, as the machines brought by the contractors couldn’t reach the area, and locals were told the authorities would come back to finish the job. “But they haven’t done that. When it started raining heavily last week, the garbage began floating from under the bridge. We fear that if the rains continue, all this filth will flow back into the sea, polluting it with solid waste,” said Sayyed.
Barai, who said he had been contacting the BMC several times to get the garbage removed, claimed he was told by officials that their respective departments were not responsible for picking up and dumping the waste. “They are just passing the buck,” he alleged.
BMC Speak
Yogesh Mogal, a junior engineer with BMC, said, “We have issued show-cause notices and have given instructions on what to do going forward to the contractor concerned, but haven’t received any replies as to why the work was delayed. Some of the garbage at the spot is not from the nullah but junk that was thrown by locals. The silt removed from the nullah has to be dumped outside of the city, where solid waste cannot be dumped, but we assure you the mud will be removed by Tuesday and the rest of the solid waste in the coming two days.”
Mogal also cited difficulties caused by the rain as one of the reasons for the delay in getting rid of the waste. Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar, who is in charge of stormwater drains, said, “We generally do not see this issue of garbage not being picked up for a month. I will look into the matter and see to it that action is taken against the contractor concerned.”
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
