In a hurry to ensure that the side drains were clean before the onset of Monsoon, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) cleaned a major stretch of side drains on Eluru Road speedily and dumped the entire garbage on the road.
The civic authorities began de-silting of the side drains in the city and carried out the works on Eluru Road, which is one of the few major roads in the city, as well. On either side of the road, the de-silting works were completed.
The job, however, is half done as the debris, mud, and sludge on the road is making it impossible for even pedestrians to access the area beyond the garbage heap.
The shopkeepers have to suffer a lot because of the choked sewerage. But, the desilting works have posed a new problem to them. “The customers were shying away from entering into the shops as soon as they encounter mounds of garbage in front of the shops,” the shopkeepers said.
“The VMC sanitation wing came for the de-silting and dumped it near the manhole or on the road. It is emanating foul smell," said Anand, a shopkeeper.
The residents of nearby localities were airing similar views.
They fear that a small drizzle was enough to make the trash and silt dumped on the side of the drains to flow back into the same drains. Ch. Jagadeesh, a resident of Annadana Samajam Road, a parallel to Eluru Road, said waste dumped along the road was a potential health hazard.
The VMC should have lifted the debris immediately to avoid spread of communicable diseases, he said. Though it is mandatory for the VMC authorities to shift the trash and silt immediately, they seem to have turned a blind eye to it. During rains, the garbage smell spreads in the locality. The issue needs to be solved on priority basis, they said.
The people, who go for morning walk on Eluru Road, said “We generally take the Eluru Road to enjoy the fresh air but heaps of garbage dumped on the road has been rather marring the feelings of being fresh.”
