HYDERABAD: After the city witnessed rains on Wednesday, residents under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) found mounds of garbage, including the mixture of municipal solid waste and biomedical waste (BMW) from COVID-19 patients, dotting their front doors.The garbage mounds have reportedly been found in all the 150 wards of GHMC, affecting over 40,000 residents. The garbage, mixed with the used face masks, hand gloves and other bio-hazardous waste accumulate at water stagnation points. These garbage mounds emit a strong pungent smell, making it difficult for the residents to breathe.
In most areas, like First Lancer, Vijay Nagar Colony, Bahadurpura, King Koti, Khairatabad, Langer Houz, Mallepally, Nampally, Asifnagar and Jhirra, the garbage can be seen floating on the accumulated rainwater. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the city generated around 10 tonnes of COVID-19 BMW since August 2020, averaging to around 3,000 kgs of medical waste each day.
“When I filed a complaint with the GHMC, officials asked us to wait for a few days until the drainage lines to clear the waste,” said Mohammed Abid, a resident of Jhirra, whose door opens right to the garbage mound at Jhirra Main Road. “Last night, the drainage water entered into the verandah and used masks were floating with the plastic waste coming from the garbage mound,” he said.
The quarantine centres at Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital and Area Hospital Golconda have reportedly been burning garbage, which include used masks and PPE kits, as the GHMC has stopped the collection of garbage. The medical waste, however, according to the hospital management is being segregated and discarded as per the rules of BMW management.
BIO-HAZARDOUS WASTE IN GARBAGE MOUNDS
Garbage mounds, found in all the 150 wards of GHMC, are mixed with the used face masks, hand gloves and other bio-hazardous waste, and accumulate at water stagnation points. These mounds emit a strong pungent smell, making it difficult to breathe