Garbage dumped on roads hits traffic, pedestrian movement

Bhubaneswar: To clean drains before the monsoon, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started cleaning and desilting of drains across the city. But in the process, the workers are dumping the garbage on the road causing inconvenience to commuters.
The garbage dumped on the road also creates unhygienic conditions.
“There is no point in doing such haphazard and careless work. They are dumping debris, mud and sludge from the drains on the roads. It has become very difficult to walk on the road due to the stink. Also, the road width has decreased,” said Amaresh Pradhan, a resident in Saheed Nagar.
People said though choked drains have been a major problem and main reason for waterlogging in the rainy season, desilting poses a new problem.
“Customers are hesitant to enter my shop as the garbage dumped from the drain in front of it is giving rise to a foul smell. For the last two days, my business has got affected due to heaps of filth in front of my shop,” said Ganesh Chandra Sahu, a variety shop owner in Unit-IV.
The residents feared that if the sludge is cleaned then the filth will again get into the drain and the whole activity will be fruitless.
“If the filth is not cleaned and dumped for a longer period there are chances of spread of diseases among people staying close to it. The BMC should clean the debris on a priority basis,” said Saroj Panda, a resident of Sastri Nagar.
The BMC officials said the debris is being lifted after the drains were cleaned. In some localities the process has been delayed by a couple of days, BMC sources said.