GUWAHATI, Aug 24 � Uncleared garbage spilling over dustbins and littering large areas continues to be a common sight along most of the city roads and streets. The filth and stench apart, the situation is posing a serious health hazard to the citizens.
About a month back, the Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) also took note of the pollution caused by heaps of garbage on roadsides and recommended certain measures to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) to streamline the garbage collection system by having more dustbins and increasing the frequency of the collection. Apparently, the GMC has done little to improve its collection and disposal of municipal waste in the city.
Any visitor passing through the RG Baruah Road can see heaps of uncleared garbage rotting and emanating a nauseating stench on several stretches of the road between Ganeshguri and Gauhati Commerce College. The few dustbins are invariably seen overflowing with wastes, and at some points there is no dustbin and the garbage can be seen littering the roadside in heaps.
�It is a terrible sight�you can smell the stench on the stretch from Zoo-Narengi Tiniali to Gauhati Commerce College as huge deposits of garbage lie unattended for a major part of the day. The GMC has proved itself to be a totally worthless body, as it cannot even collect the garbage at regular intervals, forget about scientific disposal of the waste,� Partha Saikia, a local resident said.
When asked, a GMC official said that of late efforts were being directed at removal of the municipal waste at frequent intervals and also at providing more dustbins. But the worsening scenario concerning garbage collection and disposal does not corroborate the government version.
It is not just the stretch mentioned by the resident that reels under uncleared garbage, as it is the same case along the stretch from Ganeshguri to Zoo Tiniali point, with uncleared heaps of garbage narrating a story of the GMC�s callousness and inefficiency.
Again, the deplorable situation is not restricted to the main roads and thoroughfares, with many of the lanes and by-lanes facing a deteriorating situation.
�The problem has two aspects � first, there are not enough dustbins in the area, and then the GMC does not remove the garbage for a long time, allowing it to rot and emit a foul smell,� a resident of a by-lane of Rukmini Nagar area near Dispur said.
With the rainy season on, the situation often beggars description during periods of waterlogging in many of the city�s localities. The water carries the filth and waste from roadsides to all over, and when the water recedes, the entire road it littered with muck and grime.
While the GMC earlier used to cite manpower crunch and fund shortage as an alibi to hide its inefficiency, that can no longer be tenable with the Government putting enough funds at its disposal of late.
Citizens feel that the GMC needs to function in the manner expected of such an important government organization. "More than any other agency, the GMC is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the city's health and hygiene. But its manner of functioning betrays an appalling lack of professionalism," another resident said.
