A week after the deadline set by the GHMC Commissioner M. Dana Kishore for removal of demolition waste from roads, the debris remains where it was on major thoroughfares.
Mr. Dana Kishore, soon after taking over as the Commissioner, conducted a meeting with the zonal and circle-level officials, and set a deadline of September 10 for clearing the roads of debris.
Displaying pictures of the status of roads in Nampally, the Commissioner expressed severe anger at the apathy of officials, and warned that action would be taken against those failing to clear the roads before the deadline.
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Emergency teams
About 2000 kilometres of major road stretches in GHMC need to be cleared not only of the debris, but also garbage, Mr. Dana Kishore said, and asked the Sanitation wing to increase the number of vehicles for clearance of debris from 22 to 100 if need be. He also offered the services of 44 monsoon emergency teams working in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board for the purpose. Major stretches in the city, however, still have mounds of construction debris strewn around carelessly, causing traffic problems and difficulties for the pedestrians.
A case in point is the stretch of Nampally between Ravindra Bharathi and Gruhakalpa complex, which is haphazardly dumped with demolition waste.
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Several months after demolition of buildings for widening of the road, the debris has not been removed causing not only traffic issues, but also forms a breeding ground for mosquitoes owing to rain water trapped inside.
Another instance is the Begumpet stretch near Government Women’s College, where a functional bus-shelter has been dumped with tonnes of debris, rendering it practically useless.
The road from Kothapet to Malakpet too, is dotted by mounds of excavated earth and demolished footpath and BT waste on both sides, which is yet to be removed. Amberpet, among many other locations, is another stretch awaiting lifting of debris long after the demolitions.
Internal roads are altogether a different issue, about which no responsibility has been fixed. So far, the action/inaction is limited to four-lane roads.
Officials admit that a lot needs to be done before the city is cleared of debris on all its stretches. As of now, no clear estimate exists about the quantum of debris that is dumped on the roads.
“We had actually started the drive in April this year, long before Commissioner’s orders. Clearance of legacy waste itself takes up a lot of time,” clarifies an official from the C&D wing.
Legacy waste is the debris dumped by unknown persons/agencies before the C&D wing was formed.
Since April, close to 1.8 lakh tonnes of C&D waste has been cleared, and close to 42,700 tonnes was cleared during August alone, he says.
However, clearance of debris from demolitions for any particular project, is the responsibility of the agencies carrying out the works, and penalties will be imposed if the same is not complied with, he asserts.