Hundreds of members of Sanskarbadi, a social organisation, led by its founding president Trinath Maharana, staged a dharna here demanding lifting of garbage dumped on the roadside near the City Hospital Square.
Since the City Hospital road is in a posh location with hundreds of patients regularly coming to the hospital taking the road, making it a dumping yard by the Brahmapur Municipal Corporation (BMC) is quite shocking and uncalled for, said a Sanskarbadi member.
Even thousands of passengers who are travelling by bus have to close their noses to avoid filthy smells. Among others, former BMC vice-chairman and DCC president Bhagaban Gantayat, former councilor Sarat Chandra Panda, Sanjay Majhi, Umacharan Muni, Tripati Subudhi, Brundaban Khatei, Rabi Rath, Rabi Routray, Pitambar Pala, Sunil Panigrahi and a galaxy of social workers and senior citizens participated in the mass dharana as a token of their protest.
Notably, due to carelessness, the BMC has made the road sides and drains dumping yards at many places in the city causing inconvenience to denizens. The garbage is never lifted regularly. Most of the drains in the city are clogged with mud, solid wastes, and garbage as they are not properly cleaned.
Almost all the drains are stagnant with water, thereby making them breeding centres for mosquitoes. The drains and the surrounding environment adjacent to Giri Market (vegetable market) near the Park Street UP School, Panabika Street, Gandhinagar 3rd line Extension and in front of Gandhinagar Post Office are only a few examples of poor sanitation of the BMC. The district administration and the authorities of the BMC have never conducted any surprise check to bring the contractors to book. Some denizens who lodged complaints with the BMC authorities were reportedly threatened in the past.
Besides, several key places in the city are being used for parking of heavy vehicles loaded with tons of commercial goods creating obstacles for the public to cross smoothly. The road in front of Gandhinagar Post Office and Dr Paul Street near Pataleswar Temple can be few examples in this regard. Neither the police nor the BMC authorities dare ask the concerned businessmen not to park their vehicles. The district administration too acts as the mute spectator.
Though the BMC is having a dynamic Health Officer, but he seems to be unable to change the situation on the ground as the entire system of the BMC is in a state of mess. The BMC substantially fails to lift the day to day garbage, fish skins, rotten vegetables etc from Big Bazar, Kamapalli, Bijipur and Giri markets which should have been lifted at least twice a day to keep the environment conducive.
There is a public perception that all the grants that come from the Ministry of Urban Department of both State and Center under sanitation and urbanization development programme to the BMC should be released only after high power teams inspect sanitation of different wards including functionality of drains.