SANGAREDDY: Villagers in Madgi on the Telangana-Karnataka border have secured an assurance from the Bidar Municipal Council that the garbage dump yard serving Bidar town will be shifted within three months after nearly two weeks of sustained protests.
The assurance came on Wednesday following continuous protests by residents of Madgi village in Sangareddy district against the dumping of garbage on land adjoining their village. The land where the waste was being dumped lies in Karnataka, although it is adjacent to Madgi in Telangana.
The villagers alleged that the dumping had left them to contend with foul odour, flies and mosquitoes, making daily life increasingly difficult. They said garbage collected from Bidar town, about 42 km away, was being transported every day and dumped close to their habitation.
Determined to stop the practice, residents repeatedly intercepted garbage-laden vehicles over the past fortnight and turned them back before they could reach the site.
The confrontation intensified on Tuesday when Bidar municipal officials arrived with several vehicles to dump garbage near the village. Residents questioned why the land was being used as a dump yard when they had earlier been told that a police station would be constructed there after the nearly five-acre plot was levelled.
Villagers alleged that, despite their objections, municipal workers dumped the waste on the Madgi-Bidar road before leaving.
Land was meant for police station: Villagers
They questioned why the municipality could not identify a location away from residential areas for waste disposal, irrespective of whether the land belonged to Karnataka. They later alerted the police and Panchayat Raj authorities.
The dispute prompted a joint meeting on Wednesday involving police, revenue and municipal officials from Bidar and Sangareddy districts.
During the meeting, Bidar municipal officials maintained that no objections had been raised when a permanent dump yard was originally proposed at the site. The villagers disputed the claim, saying they had not objected because they had been informed that a police station, and not a garbage dump, would come up there.
Faced with the villagers’ continued opposition, Bidar municipal authorities sought three months’ time to identify and develop an alternative dump yard. The residents agreed after officials assured them that the existing site would be abandoned once the new facility was ready.
Soon after the meeting, Bidar municipal authorities deployed JCBs to clear the garbage dumped across the Madgi-Bidar road, restoring traffic on the route.
