CUTTACK: The alleged apathy of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) in maintaining cleanliness near the Taladanda canal road has turned it into a dumping yard for construction waste.
As per sources, crores of rupees were spent for widening and beautification of both sides of the Taladanda canal road in 2020. The previous BJD government had revamped the stretch from Jobra to Ranihat to facilitate easier communication for patients and ambulances going to SCB medical college and hospital.
Apart from widening of the road, a 1.5 metre footpath was also constructed on both sides of the embankment with paver blocks and trees planted to beautify the area. However, due to lack of maintenance over a period of time, the area has now reduced to just a dumping yard.
While heaps of construction waste can be seen lying on one side of the road, bushes and creepers have grown covering the wire fencing on the edge of the canal, exposing the lack of care, maintenance and enforcement activities on part of the civic body.
Some city-based environmental activists opined that the civic body provide a specific site for dumping of construction waste. “If a designated place is provided for dumping of construction waste, people would not randomly throw them wherever they wish,” they opined.
Contacted, mayor Subhas Singh said steps would be taken for removal of the construction waste and cleaning of bushes and creepers. “The matter would be taken up in the next council meeting for provisioning specific site for dumping of construction waste,” he added.