City dwellers raise a stink over garbage dumping on roadside

Hyderabad: Despitetaking up a special sanitation drive by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the issue of garbage dumping on roads remains the same. Residents said that the Municipal Corporation has failed to address the problem of waste collectors dumping garbage on roadsides, causing inconvenience to commuters by blocking roads.

In various areas of the city, door-to-door garbage collectors are repeatedly dumping collected waste on roadsides, especially at garbage points in colonies, which continue to remain cluttered. The garbage collection process is managed by Swachh Auto Tipper vehicles.

Srikanth N, a resident of Nacharam, complained that waste collectors are dumping collected garbage back onto roads, worsening the situation. Despite various complaints, the issue remained unsolved, further aggravating the conditions.

He urged officials to take stronger measures to enforce proper waste management, prevent diseases, and stop roads from turning into dumping grounds.

Ramya, another resident, said, “Seeing the trash, others have started throwing garbage here. Some even urinate at the spot.” She said they lodged multiple complaints with municipal workers and made several phone calls requesting removal, but the trash remained untouched.

Taking to social media, Dev Raju, a resident of Nacharam, posted that garbage collectors are dumping waste on the roadside near Johnson Grammar School, Mallapur. “This is not the way to handle sanitation management. When GHMC is not capable of handling the city, why do we need expansion and a Future City,” he wrote.

Netizens, while posting a video of garbage collectors dumping waste on roadsides near a school, asked, “How can workers dump garbage like this near schools? Who is accountable here?” Rajun posted.

According to activists, unattended garbage spread across roads produces a foul smell, making it difficult for citizens who face such inconvenience daily. Authorities need to take up stronger sanitation measures in the city.

Mohammed Ahmed, a city activist, said GHMC took up its most ambitious sanitation drive from December 29 following the recent delimitation of wards, forming 300 new wards.

As part of the drive, sanitation staff of the corporation are tasked with cleaning roads, flyovers, parks and footpaths, lakes and nalas, transformers, and electric poles across the new wards. “The focus was on removal of legacy waste and garbage vulnerable points (GVPs). However, the corporation’s own sanitation workers are dumping garbage on roadsides and at GVPs,” Ahmed said.

Residents said the issue is causing additional problems, including foul smells, mosquito breeding, and the presence of stray dogs.