Open sites turn dump yards

HUBLI: Snakes entering houses is common in Netaji Nagar on Gokul road. Reason: Vac ant sites in and around the area have turned breeding grounds for reptiles.
Residents of Netaji Nagar and several other areas including Prashant Colony, Kotiling Nagar, Bhavani Nagar, Mayuri Estate, Paraswadi, Hastinapur layout, Vasavi Nagar and Chetana Colony are living in constant fear of deadly snakes and furious dogs and pigs, thanks to open sites with heaps of garbage in their neighbourhood.
Speaking to TOI, Shakuntala Patil, a resident of Vasavi Nagar said: "Population of stray animals is on the rise here because of open sites which are full of trash. Dogs and pigs attack passersby. Since there is no one to take care of these sites, people are indiscriminately throwing leftover food and garbage, turning the sites into dump yards. The corporation is not serious about solving the problem."
When TOI asked some residents as to why they throw garbage on open sites, they said civic workers do not come regularly to collect garbage. "So where do we keep the garbage bags?," they asked.
Raghavendra Ramdurg, a former corporator said that in Kotiling Nagar alone there are 550 open sites.
"These sites are left without maintenance. The corporation should act tough against the owners of open sites," Raghavendra said.
Action promised
"The problem of open sites has come to our notice. We are finding the owners of such sties with the help of residents in respective areas, " said PD Galemmanavar, assistant commissioner (In-charge), HDMC. "We will take measures to clean such sites on priority. Later we will add the amount of cleaning and maintenance fees to the property tax," he added.