Smashing to smithereens the civic body's sanitation claims, SDM Ravish Shrivastava on Sunday discovered a large amount of waste dumped into a lake in the vicinity of the defunct Union Carbide factory in the state capital.

Leading an inspection, Govindpura SDM Shrivastava found water hyacinth and waste dumped into the lake, which has emerged as an encroachment hotspot. Following the discovery, civic authorities swung into action, deploying earth-moving equipment to free the water body of the contaminating waste.

Residents say the lake was being used as a dumping site by Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) sanitation workers. Corruption and negligence are rampant among municipal workers, who often dump waste at locations within the city instead of transporting it to the designated landfill at Adampur.

BMC Commissioner Harendra Narayan has repeatedly urged employees to adhere to Swachh Survekshan 2024 guidelines while undertaking sanitation work, but the directives have obviously fallen on deaf ears. Confirming the discovery of the vast amounts of garbage dumped at the site, SDM Shrivastava said, "Municipal workers are clearing the lake. The work should be completed by Monday."

Meanwhile, excavators continued to remove waste and water hyacinth from the lake until late on Sunday evening. District administration officials said that the area of the six-acre lake has been mapped to prevent encroachments on the water body.

Once a haven with dozens of water bodies, Bhopal is fast emerging as a pollution hotspot, with civic body officials and employees hijacking sanitation and ecology plans for the state capital.