Ooty stinks as garbage collection slacks off

Udhagamandalam: Garbage collection has gone for a toss in the town for the last five days, ever since it was outsourced. Heaps of garbage piled up on the roads and the stench emanating from it have been bothering residents in the town. Residents lament their surroundings are piling with garbage, posing a risk of health hazard.
With the door-to-door garbage collection service taking a hit, people have resorted to dumping garbage on the road. L Krishnan, a resident of Missionary Hill said, “It has been four days since the garbage collection vehicle came to our area. On Monday, the vehicle came halfway and left after collecting garbage from a few houses. Garbage has been dumped in at least five places along the whole stretch of the road, even that has not been cleared.”
M Lakshmi, a resident of Old Ooty said, “Door-to-door garbage collection was introduced some four years ago by the then collector, J Innocent Divya, in all the 36 wards across the town. The system has been in a slump ever since she was transferred in 2021. It is high-time the municipal officials take some proactive measures to keep the town garbage-free.”
Roadside garbage bins were removed when the door-to-door collection was introduced, citing stray animals menace. The irregularity in garbage collection has thus forced people to dump garbage on the roads. Gopal, another resident, said, “The municipality promptly collects fees for garbage collection along with property tax. But fails to carry out its responsibility”.
When contacted, Yegaraj, Ooty municipal commissioner told TOI, “Garbage collection in the town has been outsourced since June 1. The contractor is facing some snags in the initial stage of service.” He added that the issue will be sorted out in a few days.