Malkangiri: The municipal authorities have not yet made any permanent arrangement for dumping garbage, collected every day in the civic area.
Although the civic authorities are dumping the garbage in a temporarily demarcated area, it is inviting trouble from locals.
Worthy to note, two of the contractors engaged in lifting garbage from Ward No 19 have deployed 80 labourers, eight small carriers and two tractors on a daily basis for transporting household waste to the temporary site. The civic body is spending about Rs 10 lakhs every month on this work.
According to sources, the state government had announced Malkangiri Notified Area Council (NAC) as Malkangiri Municipality in 2014, prior to which garbage was being dumped alongside the cremation ground service road of Malkangiri-Balimela main road.
When the local people resented it, the then Forest and Environment Department Secretary Suresh Mohapatra, during his visit to Malkangiri district, expressed his dissatisfaction and advised the district administration to shift this site elsewhere.
Subsequently, the garbage was dumped on a government land at Mundaguda village, which was again opposed by Agricultural Science Centre and the villagers.
Thereafter, the Malkangiri municipal body started dumping garbage at Goi Hills near Vairab temple beside Malkangiri-Jeypore main road. Later on, the site was changed to a hillside area near MV-7 village, as the local forest department and residents opposed it vehemently.
Of late, the new place at Mundaguda village, chosen again by the Malkangiri Municipality, has sparked outrage among the residents. The villagers are said to have had a severe tussle with civic staff and the garbage-laden tractors returned to the municipality office.
Reacting to this, the Executive Officer of Malkangiri Municipality M. Nilakantha Naidu said, “Necessary arrangement for a permanent dumping yard will be made keeping in mind the interests of local people as well as environment. The Revenue Department has already provided land near MV-7 village for the purpose”.
PNN