CUTTACK: Buzzing with activity till four days back, the Balijatra fairground has now turned into an ugly space filled with heaps of garbage lying scattered all around, thanks to the alleged apathy of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) in clearing it.
As careless as it gets, the entire lower Balijatra fairground, where the trade fair was being held, is now just dotted with empty food packets, single-use thermocol plates, cups, tarpaulin sheets, polythene bags and plastic bottles.
This, despite the fact that the Orissa High Court had issued strict guidelines, banning single-use plastic and stressing use of biodegradable alternatives by the vendors. The district administration too, had organised massive awareness programmes for a clean and green Balijatra. However, the post-festival scene speaks of a different story altogether.
City residents attributed the situation to the failure of the CMC in cleaning the fairgrounds. Traders and hawkers who had participated in the trade fair have left behind heaps of waste that are yet to be attended to. The area where food stalls had been set up are the worst affected.
“The huge garbage dump at the fairground also poses risk of pollution in the nearby Mahanadi river. If the area is not cleared immediately, it can pose health risks for nearby residents,” said Batakrishna Das, a city-based teacher.
Residents have demanded that the CMC expedite cleaning the area on priority basis, citing that the unattended garbage was polluting the environment.
Cuttack mayor Subhash Singh said a private agency has been entrusted the cleaning work through tender. “The agency is carrying out the cleaning work at the cost of Rs 35 lakh. Though the inner side of the fairground adjacent to the Mahanadi river has already been cleaned, the agency is facing problem in clearing the remaining area as the bamboo structures erected for setting up of the stalls are yet to be removed,” he added, assuring that the fairground would be cleaned on war-footing.