Many years ago, Official Colony had conservancy lanes (the space between rows of houses), where manual scavengers used to clean up wastes. While the practice has become obsolete now, what remains in its place is a dumping ground of garbage that has remained ignored by the GVMC authorities for a long very time.
The gap between the second and the third lanes of the colony is particularly alarming. With no approach road to the conservancy lane from either side, the space has turned into a ugly pile of garbage from the neighbouring houses and flats. Residents also complain about bad street-lighting in the lanes.
“Low vision people have a lot of problems. In fact, I have to close my office at 4.30 p.m. every day due to poor street-lighting,” says M.S. Raju, president of Vision-Aid Charitable Services, a centre for the visually impaired. The institute is located on the first lane of the colony.
Pollution from the neighbouring port area is a common problem that the residents are battling.
A layer of soot covers cars, electronic gadgets, and most equipment as a result of this. While regular maintenance is the only way out, long-term exposure to pollution also triggers health problems, residents of the locality say.
