HYDERABAD: Residents of Ameenpur claim that the foul smell emanating from the Ameenpur dumping yard continues to affect them. Close to eight months after MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao directed the officials to solve the long-pending issue of the dumping yard, it remains unresolved.
Several colonies around the Ameenpur area have been affected by the dumping yard. Residents claim that for the last many years they have been complaining about the stench from the dumping yard, leaving them sleepless, however, these complaints have only landed on deaf ears of officials. They lamented that several times “false promises” were made to shift the dumping yard but nothing has happened till now.
In September 2020, a lot of residents raised the issue, following which the MAUD minister directed the officials to “address the legacy dumping through a scientific solution at the earliest”. Despite the Minister’s directions, there has not been any resolve of the problem, the residents claimed.
Speaking to Express, Ravi Teja, a resident of Senthan Greenpark Colony, said that children and the elderly in the area are facing health issues due to the unhygienic conditions created by the dumping yard. He pointed out that even though the residents keep their windows closed, the stench from the dumping yard remains in their homes.
“Children can not play outside even for five minutes as the stench is so bad. The area has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, resulting in the spread of airborne diseases. We are punished every day for no fault of ours, why is this treatment given to us,” he argued.Another resident added, “Now with the lockdown, we are forced to stay at our homes, this means we have to bear the foul smell for longer hours.”
More than 1,000 families have been facing similar issues. The residents demand that immediate measures should be taken to provide relief to the locals. “The monsoon has already started, and during rains, the stench coming from the dumping yard increases multiple folds and so does the breeding of mosquitoes. This will only increase health risks to residents, especially during a pandemic. This is why we ask KTR to look into the matter immediately,” added Ravi.