Noida: Over 10 days have passed since Diwali, but garbage remains uncollected in Sector 3, Greater Noida West, prompting residents to voice concerns about health risks and escalating sanitation issues.
On Sunday, residents said that household waste has not been collected since the festival, leaving garbage to pile up outside homes. Adding to the problem, a water pipeline leak in some parts of the sector has worsened the situation, with stagnant water, now mixing with uncollected waste.
"Household waste collection has not taken place since Diwali," said Laxman Singh Chamyal, a resident of Sector 3. "Waste collectors have not been coming to the sector for the past 10 days, and the house is filled with garbage, posing a health hazard."
Other residents, like Mukesh Vashishth, noted the strange absence of the garbage collection van. "We can hear the jingle of the garbage collection van, but it hasn't entered our lane in the past week," Vashishth said.
Aruna Shukla, another resident of Sector 3, said, "Water has been leaking in front of Janta flat D 533 for the last month. Authority staff came and dug a pit, but then left. Any incident could happen due to this pit, and we request the concerned authorities to take action immediately." Sandeep Sagar, the technical supervisor of the water department at GNIDA, assured that the issue is being addressed.
In the city, the Diwali aftermath has taken a different shape, with idols, flowers, garlands, and diyas, discarded on roadsides, in parks, temples, and under trees across several sectors. This seasonal debris, left behind by celebrations, clutters public spaces, creating an unsightly mess for days following the festival. Local volunteers stepped up to tackle the issue. Members of Yuva Manch Jagran Samiti (YMJS), a local social organisation, collected Diwali puja materials from sectors 22, 30, and 31, immersing them in a temporary pond created in Muradnagar and sprinkling Ganga water over it as part of the ritual.