Blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party-controlled Mangaluru City Corporation council for the poor state of solid waste management in the city, J.R. Lobo, former Mangaluru City South MLA, on Friday said the solid waste management has reached a new low and is bringing a bad name to the city.
Mr. Lobo said personnel from Antony Waste Handling Cell Private Limited were not collecting waste from houses daily in several areas and the waste is getting dumped by the roadside.
Dumping was also happening on Fridays when the personnel collect only dry waste.
He said MCC was not properly paying the private firm the charges for the door-to-door collection and this was leading to protests by the personnel. No action has been taken by the MCC to collect solid waste management cess from people, he said.
“There were problems in solid waste management when our party ruled the MCC. But we ensured day-to-day collection of waste and timely payment of charges to the firm. We never allowed disruption of collection of waste,” Mr. Lobo claimed.
More than a year since the damage caused due to garbage slip at the landfill site in Pachhanady, the State Government is yet to properly compensate the residents and address their needs. “The BJP came to power by showing that the Congress failed to properly govern the city. You have failed the people. The solid waste management is in a very bad shape now,” he said.
The BJP has to give a serious thought on the issue and take steps to improve it in the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission, which is presently on, he said.
Senior councillor Shashidhar Hegde and Leader of Opposition in MCC Council Abdul Ravoof also spoke.
