BHUBANESWAR: Its peak monsoon and Capital City is raising a stink, thanks to piles of garbage dumped across residential colonies. Though Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has engaged new agencies, a majority of them are facing teething problems in commencing operations, leaving daily sanitation exercises badly hurt. To carry out sanitation work effectively, the BMC which in the past operated with just three agencies - Jagruti, Ramky and PMR Consortium - roped in seven new ones this year.
Though work was supposed to be taken up by the new agencies last month, sources said, only two have started work in 13 wards so far. In the rest, the civic body is managing the show on its own or through the old agencies.
As a result, garbage heaped up on the road has become a common sight. “The stench emanating is unbearable. The waste poses health hazards during the rainy season,” rued a resident of Jayadev Vihar.
A hassled BMC has already been slapped show cause notice on one agency for poor performance, said a BMC official.
Sanitation work was affected in the city after Ramky allegedly did not cooperate citing that its dues worth crores of rupees were not cleared by the civic body. Night sweeping work was also hit owing to the poor preparedness of some of the agencies.BMC Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said the new agencies have been asked to start their services at the earliest. The operation of two agencies has been affected due to legal hurdles, he said.
BMC recently came up with a fresh standard operating procedure (SOP) making it mandatory for eateries, commercial establishments as well as residential societies and individual households to keep two separate dustbins for segregation of dry and wet waste while handing them over to sanitation staff.
While enforcement at marketplaces has started, residential areas are waiting and that is where the garbages are piling up. A resident wondered why a fine is not being imposed on households dumping waste on the roadsides.
Officials of the BMC sanitation wing said enforcement against waste dumping will start soon. “We have started it for commercial areas and will form squads for residential areas,” said BMC deputy commissioner Suvendu Sahoo.