Open garbage transfer pointsnear college, hosp irk residents

Patna: It seems the Swachh Bharat Mission has gone for a toss in the state capital, especially in Patliputra Colony and Gardanibagh with open garbage transfer points that too near a college and hospital respectively. People living near Patliputra’s Pani Tanki Mor and in the vicinity of Gardanibagh Hospital are forced to breathe polluted air because of the open garbage points. The condition has become pathetic amid monsoon, posing several health threats.The local residents claim no action has been taken by Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) despite repeated complaint, even as the civic body says that new modern garbage transfer stations are coming up in Gardanibagh, Azimabad and Transport Nagar (Kankarbagh). Indradeep Chandravanshi, a member of the PMC standing committee, said the local executive engineer, however, has been instructed to enclose the dumping yards.

The residents say the wait is unbearable amid the stench of garbage, which even reaches the nearby houses. “I have to cross the stinking locality to reach the local market daily. The situation has worsened since the construction of Atal Path,” said Anjali Jha, a resident of New Patliputra Colony.Around 100 metres away from the garbage point is A N College. Students coming from Patel Nagar, Mahesh Nagar, and Rajiv Nagar side, besides New Patliputra Colony, are forced to inhale the polluted air."The stench is unbearable. We have complained to the college and local authorities several times, but no action has been taken," said Kritika Mishra, a student of BBA Part 1.The other garbage transfer point is also around 100 metres away from Gardanibagh Hospital. Here, one of the boundary walls has collapsed."Children are falling sick with complaints of vomiting and diarrhoea. There's also a hospital nearby, where patients might be at risk. Traffic is also affected because of the dumping yard on one lane under Gardanibagh flyover,” said Ramanuj Ram, a local resident.Chandravanshi said tenders have already been floated for the construction of the garbage transfer stations at Gardanibagh, Azimabad and Transport Nagar, besides three more has been approved in the municipal area. “Approval has been granted for building six garbage transfer stations in the PMC area under Swachh Bharat Mission. They will handle waste scientifically. A compactor machine, which will compress the garbage so that a large amount of waste can be collected in a single vehicle,” he said.He added once these are constructed, there will be no open dumping areas.