The Brahmapur Municipal Corporation (BMC) has remained apathetic towards tackling the mosquito menace in the Silk City even as more and more people are falling victim to malaria and other vector-borne diseases.
Non lifting of heaps of garbage, debris and non-cleaning of wild plants and bushes in either side of the BMC drains, besides stagnation of dirty water inside the drains have converted the city to virtually a mosquito breeding centre and made life miserable. The problem has been compounded after the repeated occurrence of natural disasters like the unprecedented Phailin and flood last year and Hudhud in October last.
The mosquitoes are swarming in such great number that it is not possible for the denizens to stay indoors without using mosquito repellents even during day time.
The residents were hopeful that the city would be cleaned and made mosquito free when the sanitation work of some wards were privatised, but even after privatisation, the situation on the ground did not improve much. The reason is lack of effective supervision and verification of the ground before payment is made to the contractors, feel the residents.
If a person complains to the BMC, many a time it is found that either the contractors or their workers heckle the complaint. None of the BMC staff members, particularly the health wing of the BMC or any senior officers, ever check the situation on the ground.
For instance, garbage is lying on road in the city’s posh area that connects the Gandhinagar third line extension and the Gandhinagar Post Office for a month. The situation in the Giri market, Gate Bazar area, Big Bazar, Park Street, Kamapalli Fish Market, Bijipur, Corporation Road and Aska Road First Gate is no better. Though the BMC is having a competent Health Officer, but he is handicapped because required resources are not available at his disposal, said an insider.
The population of this commercial hub is approaching five lakh, so also the total wards reached 40, giving rise to manifold increase in accumulation of garbage and solid wastes. According to an estimate, there are around 200 hotels, 2,000 tea stalls, and 1,000 fast food centres currently operating in the city. Most of the customers as well as owners due to absence of stringent law and regular checking and imposition of fines on offenders, throw huge quantities of waste materials including polythene, paper cups and plastic plates etc to the drains, there by clogging them.
The drains produce foul smell, injurious to health. Some real estate owners also dump their waste materials and debris on the bank of the drain knowing that the BMC is a non-actor. The residents often complain that the deployment of fogging machines and hand-operated spraying machines are being done only in main roads of the city but not in each and every street and branch roads.
But the civic body seems to have slept over the matter. The owners of several vacant plots and abandoned houses fail to construct the boundary wall to protect their plot, as a result of which tons of city garbage, solid waste and debris are being dumped on their land not only by the nearby residents but also by the BMC’s cleaning staffers.
On the other hand, the BMC has failed to serve notices to those land owners to keep their plot clean and construct boundary wall. The BMC has never conducted any survey to identify the mosquito breeding areas in each ward.
“legal notices ought to be issued to the private land owners who have kept their premises open, leading to accumulation of filth and breeding of mosquitoes,” said a senior citizen.
“The BMC must initiate urgent steps to control the mosquito menace by remaining above politics,” said a social activist, adding that the use of funds sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Urban Development, IMF and WHO in the name of sanitation and cleaning should be subjected to strict verification.