Hyderabad: With sorting and segregation of new municipal waste still being done in the open, the residents in 35 villages around Jawaharnagar state that they are exposed to a major health hazard.
More than 500 garbage-laden trucks dump trash every night till 10 the next morning. The residents were assured that the waste would be sorted out in closed areas but the work continues to be done in the open.
Garbage is capped with soil and bio-membranes but the woes of the people are far from over. The capping has been carried out according to GHMC officials in 95 per cent of the area at the dump yard.
Mr Balaji Thirukkoval-luri, a local resident, said. “We find no difference despite the capping. The government had assured the residents that once the capping is complete, sorting of new waste will be done in a closed enclosure and other dumping grounds will be identified. A year later, nothing of the sort has happened.”
The officers of both the GHMC and the Pollution Control Board at dump yard said that the residents in and around Jawaharnagar, Yapral, Kushaiguda and ECIL had been constantly complaining to them regarding the smell and movement of garbage-laden trucks at night near Radhika junction.
Mr Venkata Subba Rao, a resident in the area, said, “Due to the dumping of new waste and sorting there is also burning due to the wind movement leading to small fires every now and then. This adds to the gaseous combinations in the air and there are constant complaints of headaches, burning of eyes and breathing problems.”
“Due to the water contamination skin allergies have also been reported from this area. We are bringing this to the notice of the officials at the dumping ground and also at the headquarters as they have to work out a solution,” Mr Rao said.
A senior PCB at the site explained, “The work of sorting has to be carried out without which the processing of waste is not possible. There is round-the-clock monitoring by the department. The residents of Jawaharnagar, Dammuguda, Saket and ECIL have been complaining every week at our office and we are talking to the seniors of the means to sort it out.”
The GHMC officers at the site refused to comment.
