The District Water Management Agency (DWMA) was directed to verify if the dumping of garbage from Anakapalle at Atchiahpeta village would obstruct the flow of water from the check dams constructed in the past on the site selected for the garbage dumping yard, Collector V. Sheshadri said on Monday.
People of Atchiahpeta and surrounding villages were opposing dumping of garbage in the village and 20 were arrested during the agitation and were later released on bail. The High Court gave a temporary stay on dumping of garbage and would hear the version of Commissioner of Anakapalle on April 3. The villagers said the municipality did not get the consent of gram panchayat or the AP Pollution Control Board for dumping the garbage and quoted earlier order of Division Bench that municipalities could not dump their garbage outside their municipal areas. Mr. Sheshadri, while talking to reporters, expressed an opinion that zones for garbage dumping and other needs should have been identified and provided in urban planning but that was seldom done. The site for dumping Anakapalle municipality’s garbage at Atchiahpeta was selected several years ago, probably because it was the best option considering a municipality facing constraints like lack of space and proximity, he said. Earlier general secretary of AP Vyvasaya Vrittidarula Union P.S. Ajay Kumar, who was one of those arrested and released during the agitation, met Mr. Shesadri here and submitted a memorandum.
