For the past decade, the local civic body in Vikaspuri has given residents no choice but to dump their household trash on a busy road. Piles of garbage now obstruct pedestrians’ path.
Residents say the garbage strewn on the pavements in F-Block not only has environmental consequences, but also public health ramifications. Lack of garbage disposal in the area is leading to pollution, which is in turn harming the health of locals. Mosquitoes and flies are breeding near the dump, leading to diseases like dengue, malaria, diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid.
Twelve-year-old Pratham Verma lives near the stinking pavement and is suffering from septicaemia, which is commonly known as blood poisoning or bactermia. This disease gets accentuated in unhygienic conditions. Expressing concern over lack of sanitation in the area, the boy’s uncle said: “The garbage dumping problem of the street has been so terrible that despite filing several complaints, the authorities concerned have not paid heed to the matter.”
The residents of Airport Apartment in the area have even requested the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to inspect the area and spray pesticides to curb the mosquito menace. But, so far, residents say nothing has happened.
The municipal corporation on its part said it will send a special task force to clean up the area. “Residents can call the sanitation helpline with their complaints,” said SDMC spokesperson Mukesh Yadav.
Despite a sign-board placed at the site warning people of consequences of throwing garbage, residents are still dumping their trash on the pavement.
A local garbage picker, Shankar, who has been collecting trash for the last 20 years in Vikaspuri, said the dumping site at F-Block has been closed for the past year. “So I throw the garbage at another site in Lok Vihar. I collect on average one quintal a day and the municipal corporation’s truck collects it after every two days.”
A housewife, Manju Rai, complained of the noxious fumes in the area. “We have to stay indoors in the evenings due to the release of harmful gases.”
The president of Vikaspuri Residents’ Welfare Association Pawan Sharma said the civic agencies have not undertaken any steps to curb the rising number of mosquitoes, which are primarily breeding due to the piling garbage.
