No waste collection in many city areas

PATNA: The door-to-door garbage collection facility, launched by CM Nitish Kumar on October 2, has failed to take off in many localities of the city with people complaining that the garbage collectors are not reaching their doorsteps.

The service, according to locals, is mainly confined to main roads while the trash strewn on streets and narrow lanes are not receiving the civic body’s attention.

The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) had resumed the door-to-door garbage collection service on October 2 with a target to cover all four circles and 75 wards in the city.

However, residents of several areas, such as Indrapuri, Rajiv Nagar, East Patel Nagar, Khazanchi Road, Bhikhna Pahari, Musallahpur Haat, Boring Road, Pataliputra, Golghar and some wards in Phulwarisharif said they have not seen the waste collection vehicles yet.

“The garbage collectors do not reach our doorsteps. They collect the garbage only from main roads and ask people living in bylanes to come to auto trippers to dispose of their waste,” said Avinash Mishra, a resident of Bhikhna Pahari.

Govind Mitra Road resident Satyamala Devi said, “We are ready to pay the user charges but the garbage collectors should come to our doorsteps. For women, it is difficult to go outside to give trash to garbage collectors.”

Deputy municipal commissioner Vishal Anand said around 30-40% households in the city have been covered till date. “The remaining households will be covered by the end of this month,” he said, adding people can register their complaints regarding non-collection of garbage on PMC’s toll free number 18003456644.

“Over 125 auto trippers, 200 tricycles, 10 dumpers and 12 skidders have been pressed into service to collect garbage from different localities of the city. Nearly 600 PMC workers have been engaged for door-to-door garbage collection work,” Anand said. However, sources said of the four lakh households in the city, only 90,000 have so far been covered.