Jaipur drainage hit as JMC’s de-silting work flops

JAIPUR: The Jaipur Municipal Corporation's (JMC) mission to clean all major drains before the advent of the monsoon has started in earnest in March unlike previous years. But, due to failure in lifting the mounds of muck dug out of nullah, the effort might come to a naught after spending crores of public money.
A whopping Rs 30 crore has been set aside by the civic body for the purpose. The efforts and money is, however, literally going down the drains in absence of JMC supervision and contractors.

The JMC officials claims 80% of the desilting work has been completed, but the muck that has been lying unattended can be witnessed piled by the side of the roads, causing inconvenience to commuters and residents. Residents have shown concern that the desilted muck is going back into the drains, rendering all the efforts futile.

Kamal Jain, a resident of Tilak Nagar, says, “I have called at JMC and requested to arrange for speedy removal of the desilted slime. But my complaints have been falling on deaf ears. Between Birla Temple and Tulsi Circle, the muck is lying vacant for the past three days.”

Despite the obvious, the JMC officials remain adamant and claim that the muck is removed everyday. JMC, chief engineer, Anil Singal said, “We have not received any complaint from the residents. The garbage is lifted on time after drains are desilted.”

The JMC says that the contractors roped in for the purpose of cleaning the drains is not responsible for lifting the waste. “The garbage is lifted by sanitation workers and JMC garbage wing staff; not by the contractor. In absence of coordination and infighting, the muck is not lifted on time,” said a JMC source.

The waste dumped on the roadside is not only an eyesore but also posing heath hazards for the residents. Vijai Singhal, chief environmental engineer at Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, said that the muck lying on the road does not come under ‘environmental hazardous’ category but it does pose health problems.

Dr Pooja Dixit, while talking to TOI, said that the muck lying on the road attracts houseflies that are main agents of contamination. "Flies catch dirt on their feet and sit on our food that attach on our fingers.

The muck is wet and damp that later on becomes a breeding place for mosquitoes. And with dengue spreading in cities epidemically, it is necessary to clean it up as early as possible."

There are around 900 drains in the city and during the rainy season, water logging becomes a serious issue. The drainage system of the city is already weak. With incomplete desilting, the residents are most likely to face inconvenience due to water logging when the monsoon sets in.

Chairman of Sewerage Conservation Committee at JMC, Imtiaz Khan Gauri said, “Drains are being cleaned regularly. The workers cleaning the drains leave the dirt on the road to dry which is, later on, picked up by the government vehicle or sanitation worker of the area. Wet muck is not picked up because it spreads all over the road. It might have slipped the mind of workers to pick up the dirt and if there are any such complaints we will look into the matter.”