Names can be deceptive. Take Kapali Garden: the name bring to mind images of greenery and beauty. These mental pictures contrast greatly with the realities at Kapali Garden, which are overflowing sewage and mounds of garbage. Amidst squalid conditions in the colony live thousands of people enduring the filth every day.
“In a month, drainage overflows on to the road at least 10 to 15 days. Though the problem is attended to, it is done shoddily. The sanitary workers who clean the drainage remove the sewer muck and just leave it outside. It invites swarms of flies,” says a resident. There is a lift-pump and sewage surrounds it too. “We have to stand amidst such filth and pump water, say women. Worms are found in the water. We use a sieve and collect water. At times, in the food that we prepare, worms can be found,” added the women.
Another annoying problem is heaps of garbage found in various corners of the colony, suggesting that waste is not cleared at regular intervals. The portion behind the apartments resembles a dump yard. “It takes weeks, sometimes months, for garbage to be cleared. Sometimes, conservancy workers demand money to clear the garbage. But all they do is come here and pick glass and plastic bottles and other junks which can be sold,” they added.
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A resident, who lives on the first-floor of a house, says “It is disgusting to cook in my kitchen as piled-up garbage has almost reached the window.” During rains, the mounds of garbage slide down and get mixed with the stagnant drainage and rainwater, say residents. Plastic and garbage float and we have no other option but to wade through the slush. "People need to be blamed as well. Waste collection bins are in place but people living on the first floor and above, throw the waste from their balcony indiscriminately. This waste settled on another resident’s window shade,” says Suresh.