BHUBANESWAR: The daily market in Sahid Nagar, which witnessed footfall of more than 5,000 a day, has turned an unhygienic nightmare. Besides access roads, the central area of the market has turned a garbage dumping yard for the traders, posing health hazards for the customers as well as the people living in surrounding areas.
As the sanitation workers care little for the collection of garbage from the market, garbage dumps continue to rot and emit a foul smell. The organic dumps not only attract flies but also turn into a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Jitendra Sahoo, who has been running a ration shop in the marker for 10 years, said the situation has worsened for the last three years. The collection of filth has become irregular. Effluents from restaurants are discharged to the pit where rotten vegetables are discarded, he added.
The situation takes a turn for worse during the rainy season. Dirty water gets clogged and overflows into the shops making it a nightmare for the consumers to enter the market. “We are ready to pay a monthly fee for cleaning the area, but the BMC is not interested in it,” a shop owner said.
Harsh Saluja, who has a restaurant in Reliance food court, goes to the market twice a week for purchasing vegetables. He said, “The prices here are cheaper compared to other markets, which makes it economical for our business. But the vegetable vendors are least bothered to dispose of the waste in a hygienic manner.”
Deputy Commissioner of the south-east zone of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Deepak Routray said the collection of garbage is being done on a regular basis from exteriors of the market. The vendors are supposed to deposit the waste in the bins provided near the boundary walls of the campus, he added.
On the other hand, vegetable vendors argued that they do not have space allocated for disposing of waste. “We do not litter and take care while disposing of damaged vegetable products,” claimed Prabhakar Sahoo, a vegetable retailer.
Ironically, Sahid Nagar comes under Bhubaneswar Town Centre District, as per the Smart City plan.