Residents of Tankasalavari Street in Muralinagar area are living with stink and fear of diseases for several days thanks to the local panchayat workers who have reduced the street to a dump yard.
This residential area, which comes under the purview of Kanuru panchayat, has seen a good number of new apartment buildings coming up post bifurcation of the State. Inhabited by middle class families, this suburban area is slowly catching up with the rest of the city.
A sewage canal left partially open at the beginning of the street had been a source of unbearable stink and breeding ground for mosquitoes for several days. Even as the residents complained about the unhygienic surroundings, the local panchayat workers added to their problems by dumping lorry-loads of garbage in the drain.
The residents’ problem has worsened after the civic body decided to widen the road leading to their street. To broaden the size of the road that has to traverse through part of the drain, the local authorities have to fill the drain, located in a lower ground. But, instead of using mud to fill the drain and bring the level of the ground to that of the road, the panchayat workers have been dumping truck-loads of garbage picked from an adjacent area, putting to risk health of the residents of the colony. “Mounds of garbage emanate stink and it is impossible to cross this stretch without closing your nose,” says Venkateswara Rao, a resident of the colony.
“It is an irony that the district Collector and the municipal officials are sweeping the bathing ghats as part of the nation-wide Swachh mission and we are made to suffer in these unhygienic conditions,” said Mr. Rajaiah, owner of a flat located in the street.
“I keep my windows closed throughout the day as the stench of the garbage is unbearable. Elders in my house have breathing problem and if exposed to this, they may develop health complications,” says a worried Sahera Bano, yet another resident.
The residents want the panchayat authorities to take note of the problem and clear the garbage at the earliest.
