Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation awaits villagers’ decision on Daruthenga

BHUBANESWAR: The BHUBANESWAR MUNICIPAL CORPORATION (BMC) will plan its next course of action after receiving the final decision of the Daruthenga villagers on the disposal of the city’s waste at the dumping yard near the village.
After the gram sabha (meeting) of Daruthenga villagers that ended late on Monday, the sarpanch of the village panchayat said they will communicate their decision on Tuesday morning.
This meeting is likely to end the impasse. Tapan Kumar Chakrabarti, sarpanch of Daruthenga, said the village committee has 100 members. “BMC has given assurance several times in the past to solve the waste dumping issue, but nothing has been done so far. Now people do not believe the civic body,” he added.
The sarpanch said people want the state government to directly intervene in the matter and come up with a permanent solution. “We hope the state government will resolve the matter by paying heed to the demands of the villagers,” he added.
He said the villagers do not want the BMC to dump the city’s waste at the dumping yard near their village. They also urged the civic body to clean up garbage dumped at the yard earlier and Rs 50 lakh compensation to the youth who died after a garbage vehicle hit him recently, he added.
A garbage-laden truck hit a 22-year-old youth’s bike on August 7 near Daruthenga. The youth succumbed to his injuries on August 12. After this incident, villagers of Daruthenga stopped the garbage transporting vehicle to enter the dumping yard. Later, garbage was dumped at the temporary transit station (TTS) near Sainik School in the city.
Bhubaneswar mayor Sulochana Das said they have discussed the matter with the villagers recently. The villagers will get in touch with the BMC after taking a decision in the gram sabha, she added.
She said it is very difficult for the civic body to dispose of the waste if the dumping yard near Daruthenga is not opened. TTS has a limited space for the waste generated from the city, she added.