Garbage strewn in Kavi Nagar area of Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad has been reeking of garbage ever since the city's municipal corporation stopped collecting garbage from the streets.
Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) dumps the city's garbage in the Pratap Vihar dumping ground. The garbage needs to be levelled on a regular basis to prevent heaping up of waste. Due to lack of regular garbage levelling by the civic authority, the ground is not in a position to receive any more waste. Dumpers have stopped carrying garbage from the city, leaving Kavi Nagar, Nehru Nagar and several other places garbage-strewn.
General secretary of Truck Drivers Association of GMC, Saleem, said that on an average, 20 to 25 trucks are deployed to dump garbage at the Pratap Vihar site every day. But it is impossible for the vehicles to enter the site without it being levelled.
The situation is turning from bad to worse, as it will take at least four days to clear the dumping ground.
Kavi Nagar RWA president, SS Tyagi, said that if GMC does not emerge from its slumber, the entire city would soon be stinking to the high heavens.
Colonel (Retd) TP Tyagi, president AOA Federation, said that the corporation spends Rs 3,38,000 a month to maintain the dumping ground. But with the site lying useless, the entire purpose of having such a ground is defeated. Tyagi said that the city dumps more than 850 metric tonnes of civic and industrial waste every day. This means that by the time the ground is ready for waste disposal, about 3,400 metric tonnes of waste would already have been strewn across the city.
When contacted by City Spidey, district health officer, Ram Kripal Yadav, had a standard reply. He said efforts were on and things would be back to normal soon. He, however, failed to provide a deadline for the solution.
