VIJAYAWADA: Though the VMC is making tall claims of keeping the city clean, the situation at Balaji Nagar suggests the opposite as heaps of garbage dumped indiscriminately on the roads is often seen here. This is causing severe inconvenience to commuters and pedestrians passing through the locality.
Several residents say that the civic body has failed to keep sufficient number of dumper bins in the locality, which has forced them to dump waste materials on road sides and on vacant lands.
“The civic body should get strict in dealing with those responsible for indiscriminate dumping and penalise them. The issue of cleanliness and sanitation always takes a back seat in our locality. With rains occurring in the city, garbage pile in front of my house may become a source of diseases. Despite several complaints, no action has been taken so far,” K Vidyadhara Rao, a resident, said.
“Despite being ranked as one of the cleanest cities in the country, the VMC is still struggling when it comes to handling garbage’’, P Amarnath, another resident, alleged. Instead of according priority to keep only the major roads clean, the civic body should also conduct cleanliness drives for smaller roads leading to colonies, Amarnath said. He added that the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) should hire sufficient number of sanitation workers to clear garbage heaps before there was an outbreak of any disease, he said.
Another major problem haunting the locality is illegal parking of heavy vehicles on the side lanes and major thoroughfares. “We often fear to commute on the service road adjacent to the Balaji Nagar as heavy vehicles are parked on the narrow road haphazardly, which interrupts regular movement of vehicles. This road may soon turn accident-prone if the authorities fail to take action,” S Venkata Rao, a daily commuter, said.
When contacted, VMC chief medical and health officer K Arjuna Rao said instructions were given to the sanitary officer in Balaji Nagar to deploy sanitation staff and clear the garbage indiscriminately dumped on the roads. Commenting on the garbage dumped on vacant lands of the locality, he said the plot owners were asked to clear the waste and, in case they failed to do so, hefty penalty would be imposed on them.
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