CHANDIGARH: The city-side parking lot of the local
railway station has gathered so much of waste that it has become an example of civic apathy. Besides, some cars and auto-rickshaws occupy it for days.
Walk down the parking lot and on the edges of the pavement you will find a thick stream of discarded plastic—cups, bags, sheets, food packets—and paper. A lot of dust and rotting garbage has settled in the corners but it is not being cleared. "The auto-rickshaw drivers and visitors also use the lot as open toilet. That explains the bad smell," said Mayank Verma, a passerby.
Marked with an iron fence, another road corner facing the railway station building is blocked with heaps of garbage, rotten plastic, dry leaves and other kinds of waste that has started to stink. "It's hard to imagine that this is the plight of an urban railway station. Why can't it be cleaned on a regular basis?" said a railway official under the condition of anonymity. "The authorities concerned try their best to keep the surroundings clean but no matter how much they try, the place gets dirty all over again. It's the travelers who pollute it the most. We will take up the matter with the higher authorities."
