Cuttack Municipal Corporation neglect raises a stink as garbage piles up

Complaints of residents of Cuttack about the garbage pile up has gone unnoticed as the city moves to unhygienic conditions.
Garbage unattended at Cambridge School road in Cuttack on Tuesday | Express
Garbage unattended at Cambridge School road in Cuttack on Tuesday | Express

CUTTACK: Sanitation in several areas of the Millennium City is in a deplorable state. Piles of garbage strewn on the roadsides with stray dogs and cattle rummaging through the waste have become a common sight.

The roads from Seminary Chhak to Nua Rausapatana, Sutahat to Khatbin Sahi, Chandi Chhaka to Stadium, Upper Telenga Bazaar to Purighat, Mahatab Road to Chhatra Bazaar, College Square to Ice factory, Ranihat medical road, main road under the foot overbridge near Badambadi, Mission Road, Chaudhury Bazar Maruti Mandap, Gaurishankar park and CDA Amba Tota are the worst affected. The residents here fight the stench emanating from unattended heaps of garbage scattered on the roads.

The residents allege that neither roads are being cleaned nor is garbage being lifted regularly. Repeated complaints to Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) too have failed to elicit any response, said, locals. “The waste from a dustbin in our locality has spilt on the road and no one has attended to it for the last three days nor have the roads been swept,” said Chitta Ranjan Swain of College Square. 

As supervisors are irregular in visiting the wards to check sanitation work, the process of door-to-door waste collection is irregular in many areas, he added. Many colonies and lanes have no dustbin to dispose of the garbage. The residents dump household waste along the roads creating unhygienic surrounding and breeding mosquitoes.

The locals also alleged that the agency which has been outsourced the waste management work in the city is not doing its job properly and blamed CMC’s superficial supervision for the gross unsanitary condition of the city. The agency is being paid around Rs 1.5 crore a month for doing absolutely nothing in the city. On the other hand, the Global Positioning System (GPS) adopted by the civic body for monitoring and ensuring garbage disposal and cleanliness activities is lying defunct for the last one year. “We do not know how and on which basis the civic body is paying the agency carrying out waste management as the machine meant for measuring garbage has been lying defunct since long,” said Corporator Giribala Behera.

Though they have been demanding detail information on it, authorities of the civic body are turning a deaf ear, she added. Municipal Commissioner Sarat Chandra Nayak and Chairman of CMC’s standing committee on Health and Sanitation, Ranjan Biswal declined to comment on the matter.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com