City nullahs overflowing with garbage, millions of tonnes accumulated

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Large quantities of garbage have accumulated in the city’s main nullahs. The municipal corporation’s zonal offices have begun work to remove millions of tonnes of waste. Officials and staff are left wondering: Where does such a massive amount of garbage come from? Nullah cleaning work has commenced zone-wise, with an estimated expenditure of around Rs 1.5 crore.

Every year, nullah cleaning begins in summer. If rainwater collects in clogged drains, it seeps into nearby houses. Therefore, silt and waste are cleared from the nullahs. Compared to previous years, this year there is an unusually large volume of garbage in the nullahs. Staff are questioning whether residents are depositing less waste in garbage trucks and more directly into big drains. Areas such as Aurangpura, Juna Bazaar, Rohilla Galli, and Barudgarh Nullah have drains overflowing with garbage. Water flows continuously through these nullahs, but the waste floats on the surface and does not move with the flow.

Since April 1, all nullah cleaning work in the city has been carried out zone-wise. Each zone has at least five to six major nullahs, many of considerable length. The work is expected to be completed by the end of May. Previously, drain cleaning was outsourced to contractors, which resulted in minimal cleaning and more manual labour. Hence, the administration decided to carry out nullah cleaning using municipal corporation resources. Each zonal office has been provided with a JCB, and currently 10 JCBs and 3 Poclains are working throughout the day. On Tuesday, standing committee chairman Anil Makariye inspected some nullahs, following which the municipal corporation began cleaning the relevant nullahs on Wednesday.

Impact of new agency expected

The municipal corporation executive engineer Amol Kulkarni said, “The high volume of waste in nullahs is a reality this year. Installing iron grates on nullahs is not financially viable. A new agency has been appointed for waste collection. This agency will ensure 100 per cent door-to-door collection of garbage, which is expected to stop waste from entering the nullahs.”