The Assembly elections in the Capital are over but have left the town with unclean streets full of garbage. Thanks to the cleaning staffs and garbage collectors suffering from poll hangover, Ranchi suffers from cramming wastes a day before and after the elections. Most of the dustbins in the residential areas and streets remain bulging with thrash.
Since December 9 which happens to a Government holiday, no collection of garbage from households could take place because RMC cleaners remained off from their duty creating quite a trouble for the people. At Some places their absence was reported even on Monday.
Dustbins can be seen overflowing near Apsara Hotel at Circular Road. Busy Naga Baba vegetable market was also full of stinking waste. "There are no big dustbins in this area. All household garbage is dumped here, in between the market and nobody ever comes to collect the dirt," complained a vegetable vendor of the area.
Even flags and banners of political parties were seen hanging on shop roofs and boundary walls of houses and most of those are there without the permission of the owners. The RMC, nevertheless, denied responsibility of the garbage spread across the town because of elections but justified the absence of daily workers on the pretext of a government holiday.
Naresh Kumar Sinha, the public relations officer of Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) said, “I don’t believe that the town is dirty because of the ongoing elections. Obviously Tuesday was a government holiday so no workers will be on work. The officials were on holiday since Monday and will return by Thursday. We are not responsible for the posters or hoardings put up.”
Deputy Mayor Mr. Sanjeev Vijaywargia said,"We cannot blame the elections entirely for the mismanagement of wastes in the town. The poor state of cleaning of the town has been the same since the past six months as we are out of the required resources to maintain sanitation around the city. A tender has been passed to avail the utilities. Right functioning of the municipal corporation, when it comes to cleanliness of the city, will happen only after January or February.
Party promotional hoardings are the responsibility of private companies and are put up with permission. let's see when we can remove them. If we receive complaints from any one regarding posters on walls, we will remove them. The officials will return by Wednesday."