Dwarka, touted as one of the most well-planned sub cities, is failing to live up to its reputation, thanks to poor garbage management by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). Sometimes strewn across the roads, sometimes left in heaps, garbage and its effective disposal seems to have become the city’s biggest challenge. And the casual approach of the SDMC isn't helping!
A member of the managing committee of Jagran Apartments, Sector 22, Pramila Malik, says, “They hardly lift the garbage these days. You have to make calls to get it disposed! Just recently, the waste from our society was taken away after a week. The corporation should get more serious about the issue — the whole city is stinking.”
There are a plethora of problems, complain residents. Sometimes, the number of vehicles is not enough; sometimes, SDMC sanitation workers in certain areas are way too few. Joint secretary RWA, Sector 8, PS Dhunta, says, “At Sector 8, the problem has several aspects. At places, dustbins are not there and garbage is dumped at the corner of the road. Like from A1 to A30, you can see garbage scattered on the road. Secondly, the places designated by the corporation for dumping the waste are far from the residential pockets, so transport becomes a problem. Also, the corporation is supposed to provide big dustbins at certain points, but they are not there. When the RWA approached the SDMC, a penalty of Rs 10,000 was demanded for missing bins! I personally bought six drums for my area, A Block, and had four of them placed on the road. Many a times, we have to call the corporation people to come and clear the dumps. The system has to be made smooth and effective.”
One can see heaps of garbage at Sector 14, near Om Apartments, Kautilya Apartments and Radhika Apartments. Residents say this has been the situation for the last couple of weeks. President of Om Apartments, Rakesh Godara, and president of Radhika Apartments, SS Chowhan, blamed the corporation for the appalling condition.
The situation is similar in Sectors 6, 10, 7 and 9. Vice-president of Dwarka Forum, AS Chatwal, complains, “There is no supervision, no accountability, no planning, no coordination between the residents and the SDMC. At places, they lift the garbage on a daily basis and at others, it is a weekly affair. They lack proper planning. When I asked the sanitation staff about the route map and execution plan, they seemed completely blank. The corporation has not worked out a proper map for garbage dumping and has not provided sufficient bins to the city. They should really look into the matter with more seriousness.”
When City Spidey contacted SDMC officials, they said the work has indeed been affected for couple of weeks because of a strike. However, they said they would clear out the garbage from dumping points and dhalaos shortly.
