BHUBANESWAR: With the garbage crisis in the State capital getting acute, the Opposition BJP on Friday gave a 48-hour ultimatum to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to clear trash from different localities and streamline the waste collection process in the city.
If the problem is not addressed and garbage is not cleared from the city within the period, the party will hit the streets and stop vehicular traffic.BJP leaders and workers led by party’s district president Babu Singh and senior leader Dillip Mohanty took out a protest march and gheraoed the BMC office raising slogans against the civic body’s alleged failure in handling the city’s waste properly.
Singh alleged that the non-lifting of garbage for over a fortnight shows Bhubaneswar remains a Smart City only on pen and paper. “BMC’s failure has turned the entire city into a garbage dump posing health risks in the residential areas. Why should the residents pay for the carelessness of the civic body?” asked Mohanty.
The BJP leader said after the tenure of old contractors expired, new contractors were roped in for undertaking sanitation works in the city. “However, it appears the deal over the distribution of money among officials and contractors has been not finalised yet due to which the citizens are suffering,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, garbage lifting in the Capital remained affected on Friday as transport of trash from the temporary transit station near Sainik School to the Bhuasuni dump yard - the designated place for the dumping of the City’s solid waste - continued to remain paralysed due to the ongoing protest of villagers at Daruthenga.
Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulochana Das said talks have been initiated with the villagers and a meeting is scheduled on Saturday to find a solution to the issue.