Lucknow: Sweet scent of victory erases years of stench

LUCKNOW: For hundreds of residents of Priyadarshini colony it was a hard-fought victory when the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) finally shifted the garbage transfer station located in their locality since 2017 to another place recently.
The action came only after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) imposed hefty fines on the civic body for violating environmental by-laws by setting up a garbage transfer station in a residential area.

Locals had been opposing the move since 2018 after many of them developed health issues due to unhygienic conditions in their area due to the garbage transfer station set up on 1.35acre area with a 150-metric tonne capacity.
“Initially when waste was dumped, we thought it was temporary. But gradually it became a transfer station. Apart from unhygienic conditions, it also led to air pollution, taking the toll on the health of my 73-year-old asthmatic mother,” said Vishal Shukla, a resident of the area.
“It was hell to during the monsoons as the garbage would spill over in the entire locality with unbearable stench. We were forced to close windows and doors permanently,” added Vishal Shukla.
Residents lodged several complaints with the LMC in 2018 and 2019, even staged protests, but to no avail.
“In 2020, the resident welfare association (RWA) moved the high court which ordered LMC to stop the dumping of the garbage and cover the area with boundary walls. The court also said the transfer station needed to be closed. The civic body abided by the order, but restarted it in 2021,” said Anupam Srivastava, president of RWA.
“We again requested the LMC during the Lok Mangal Diwas, but when nothing changed, we moved the NGT on May 15, 2022. Local MLA Neeraj Bora helped a lot. The NGT took note and imposed a fine of Rs 10 crore on LMC on February 13 and ordered for shifting of the station by March 31.
In another order, UPPCB imposed a fine of Rs 2.40 crore on the municipal commissioner on February 8,” he added.