KARIMNAGAR: Karimnagar — listed as a Smart City under the Smart Cities Mission in Telangana — has been stinking over the past year, the stench gradually intensifying and now almost overpowering.
The reason for the stink is not too far from the city — the dumping yard close to the Manair river now resembles a hill made up of approximately four lakh metric tonnes (MT) of garbage. This hill has grown at a faster pace — adding about 150 MT of garbage per day — ever since the biomining machine, and the plant, shut down more than a year ago.
This 150 MT of garbage is collected by sanitation workers from households, commercial areas and industrial zones across the city.
A thick carpet of smoke from the dumping yard covers nearly a five-kilometre radius in Karimnagar city, causing respiratory issues such as frequent coughing, throat irritation and allergies among residents. There have been persistent requests for authorities to address the issue.
The smoke also impacts visibility on Rajiv Rahadari, particularly in the early morning and nighttime, posing a risk to vehicular traffic.
Every summer, fires erupt at the dumping yard due to the presence of Refuse-Derived Fuel in municipal solid waste. The accumulation of waste generates methane gas, which ignites spontaneously. Over the past 40 years, garbage accumulation has transformed the site into a massive landfill.
Laxmi, a resident, said she suffers from persistent cough and allergies due to the pollution.
The biomining project, initiated under the Smart Cities Mission with an investment of Rs 16 crore, was supposed to segregate dry and wet waste for composting.
Khattar visited Karimnagar biomining plant in Feb
The biomining machine stalled over a year ago and has been awaiting repairs. In March, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar visited the site and said that adequate measures would be taken to resolve the garbage crisis.
Sanitation workers at the site also complain of health hazards. Currently, 15 sanitation workers are engaged in dousing smoke and fire using five tankers daily.
Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar Additional Commissioner K Venu Madhav stated that the corporation was exploring alternative waste management solutions. “One such measure is shifting the garbage collected daily to the Kothapally Municipality dumping yard, which was recently merged with MCK,” he said.
Furthermore, a large Waste-to-Energy unit is set to commence operations on 25 acres in Sirsalpally in Huzurabad Assembly constituency, said Venu Madhav. If implemented, diverting waste to this unit could provide relief to Karimnagar residents. The facility will generate power using waste and process garbage from municipalities in Warangal and Karimnagar districts.
Additionally, a Dry Resource Collection Centre (DRCC) was inaugurated at the Housing Board Colony on Tuesday. This facility will segregate dry waste, such as plastic and cotton materials, for recycling while the wet waste will be sent to dumping yards and vermicompost centres for compost production, according to MCK environment wing coordinator M Swamy.
Authorities meanwhile are raising awareness among residents and sanitation workers about the importance of waste segregation before disposal.