Angul: With the dumping of garbage at Panchamahala dumping yard halted after protest by local residents, market places, lanes and by-lanes are now looking no better than dumping yards with locals dumping heaps of garbage at these spots.
Garbage management has been a cause of major concern for Angul civic body.
The civic body had earlier earmarked a number of places on the outskirts of the town for its dumping yard. Initially, Kumanda was selected but had to be given up due to stiff resistance from the nearby villagers.
Later, a place in Jarasinga village was identified which was also met with objection from the local residents after which Kushasingha village was selected as the designated dumping zone.
It was only when the local residents vehemently opposed the project, the administration even offered them a visit to Bhubaneswar and Puri to show them the dumping yards there. But the villagers turned it down saying they would not allow a dumping yard near their village for all the tea in China.
The latest dumping yard site chosen is near Panchamahala Benibenia Sahi. The dumping of garbage was also started for some days. But the villagers staged a protest July 17, opposing the garbage dumping. This led to a tussle between the police and the villagers. As a result, dumping has been stopped.
As of now, tons of garbage can be found piled up everywhere in the town. While about 12 tons of garbage are supposed to be lifted every day, only five tons are being carted away.
Sources said, the municipality has stopped sending dumping vans to Panchamahala dumping yard since the protest. What makes the situation worst is that the micro compost centres (MCC) in the city are also not properly functioning. Had they been functioning properly, the problem would have solved to some extent, some town dwellers observed.
The locals urged the administration to find a way out to solve the problem as piling of garbage would pose a threat to the residents’ health during the times of a pandemic.
PNN
