Waste collection still in disarray, garbage heaps pile up across city

Lucknow: Despite repeated notices and financial penalties on private garbage collection agencies for lapses in door-to-door collection and unchecked open dumping, the city's waste management remains in disarray with heaps of garbage still piling up at several spots.A reality check across areas like Aliganj, Rajajipuram, Chowk and Indiranagar revealed unattended waste lying for days. While the Lucknow Municipal Corporation claims to have tightened monitoring, the ground situation tells a different story. "Every morning, we wait for the garbage collection, but often no one turns up. By evening, people start dumping bags in the corner of the lane. Within two days, it becomes a heap," said Anjali Srivastava, a resident of Aliganj.In Rajajipuram, residents complained of health hazards. "Stray dogs tear open the bags and spread filth all over. In the rains, the stench becomes unbearable," said shopkeeper Ramesh Yadav. Some commuters also pointed to how open dumping affects traffic movement."At Sitapur Road, garbage is piled right next to the road. Rickshaws and autos slow down and the whole stretch gets choked," said Nadeem Khan, a daily commuter. LMC officials admitted that private agencies failed to maintain consistency. "We issued several notices and imposed penalties, but performance has not improved as expected. We are planning to take more strict action if the situation does not improve. We are committed to making a clean and green city with more improvement in cleanliness rankings," said a senior municipal official. When contacted, representatives of the garbage collection agency said, "The construction of garbage transfer stations is in process at the designated spots by LMC. As the construction is done, the open dumping will be restricted. We are deploying more staff to maintain door-to-door collection in our specified zones."The residents across the city are demanding stronger accountability.