Varanasi civic body ‘sweeps away’ PM’s Clean India campaign by dumping waste on other side of river banks

VARANASI: While it is a common practice to dump garbage and floral waste at the steps of Ganga ghats, Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) is “sweeping away” Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Clean India Campaign in his own Lok Sabha constituency by dumping waste on the other side of the river bank as well as the sand bed in the trans-Ganga area.
Heaps of garbage and floral waste including garlands, flowers and coconuts beside plastic bags could be seen strewn at the cross banks of the river.Also, prominent ghats like Dashaswamedh ghat, Rajendra Prasad ghat and adjacent ghats are littered with floral and other waste. The steps of the ghats also wear a filthy look.
Babu Sahani of Yuva Nishad Seva Samiti (boatmen’s fraternity which looks after maintenance and cleanliness works of Maan Mandir Ghat) said, “It has become a daily routine of the VMC employees to remove waste from ghats and dump it in trans-Ganga area near the river bed. One cannot stand the foul smell emanating from the garbage leave alone the health hazards it may be causing.”
“It has been more than one and a half month and no VMC official has contacted us regarding our proposal,” he said.
According to Sahani, a proposal regarding proper dumping of waste was made during a meeting with VMC official.
"We had suggested the officials to hire or purchase a boat which would be used to collect all floral waste from the Ganga as well as the sand bed region. Later, it can be dumped across Rajghat area," he said adding that no response was received till date.
Manoj Srivastava, a boatmen who ferries people from one end of the river to the other, said, "I do not wish to take the tourists and devotees to the river bed region due to the apathy there. So many cleanliness drives are carried out but nobody ensures cleanliness of holy river like the Ganga."
Several NGOs had also come forward and adopted ghats but no effort is being make to maintain it. The ghats including Dashashwamedh ghat, Lalitha Ghat, Rajendra Prasad Ghat, Sheetala Ghat, Panchganga Ghat and others have been adopted by people interested in social service.
When this correspondent visited Ahilyabai Ghat, adopted by Sulabh International, all the four bins installed at the ghat were covered with garbage and waste material. Two sacks full of garbage was found beside two of the dustbins. Eatables including raw fruits and floral waste was littered at the steps of the ghat. Contacted, advisor to Sulabh International Dr V N Chaturvedi, said, "The garbage is removed from time to time but due to intense cold conditions, the cleaning staff did not turn up which has resulted in accumulation of waste.” In a bid to spread awareness among people, we will also put up slogans at the ghat by next week, he assured.
Raju, a local resident, said, "The situation has been the same and will continue to be the same. No awareness programme will help if the people are not willing to implement it."
Additional municipal commissioner B K Dwivedi said, “If VMC employees are not following the norms regarding dumping of floral waste and other material, then action will be initiated. We will ensure that it is cleaned as soon as possible.”