Garbage piles up in capital city

BHUBANESWAR: Sanitation in several parts of the city has gone for a toss for over a week now as garbage has not been lifted on a daily basis.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) attributed the problem to the failure on the part of the service provider and threatened to blacklist it.
The problem is profound in Shastri Nagar, Sailashree Vihar, Kanyashram and GA plot, which have been witnessing garbage disposal in intervals of four to five days resulting in its piling up.
"The sanitation workers are so irregular that domestic wastes are getting accumulated for days together emanating foul smell," said Subhalaxmi Tripathy, a homemaker at Shastri Nagar.
Corporator of ward no. 39 Prativa Samantray said though she had taken up the issue with Ramky Enviro Engineers, the agency and the civic authorities, the problem has not been solved.
Despite strong posturing by the BMC against the agency, the sanitation continues to remain compromised.
BMC commissioner Krishan Kumar said after frequent complaints against the firm, the corporation has issued two show-cause notices to it. "We are waiting for its reply. BMC would deduct its fee and blacklist it if needed," he said.
Ramky Odisha head C Srinivas said the firm has never received any notice from BMC. "There is no problem in lifting of garbage in areas where we are engaged. We have been discharging our duty with utmost sincerity," he said, though littered garbage were found at many places.
Official sources said BMC has engaged three agencies, Jagruti, Ramky and PMR Consortium.
While Jagruti cleans 28 wards, Ramky manages 15 and PMR Consortium 14. BMC sanitation workers manage the remaining 10 wards.
On April 23, BMC issued the last show-cause to Ramky after the corporation team found major problems in areas managed by it.
Sources said the agency has deputed 578 workers for 15 wards against the requirement of 665 people.