The Hindu 29.07.2010
Row over dumping of garbage
Special Correspondent
| Authorities shift old dump yard without finding alternative site |
Garbage piles up on city outskirts close to residential areas
TDP criticises civic body for the ‘unwise' decision
Photo: U. Subramanyam 
MESSY AFFAIR:TDP district president S. Venkateswarlu and other leaders at the roadside dump yard in Kurnool on Wednesday.
KURNOOL: Even as political leaders are engaged in a verbal duel, garbage is fast piling up on the city outskirts close to residential areas. Families are raising a hue and cry over dumping of waste in their vicinity.
The hasty decision by the municipal council to shift the old dump yard from Johrapuram without finding an alternative site landed it in a serious trouble.
The municipal council and MLAs promised to shift the dump yard from Johrapuram following a request from the locals and use the land for other purposes.
The dump yard was identified more than a decade ago when the town was small. Now the residential areas almost touched the Johrapuram dump yard necessitating its shift.
The officials and elected representatives initially identified the dump yards in four directions of the city at Gargeyapuram, Pedapadu and Tadikanapalli.
When the process was in the final stage, Kodumur MLA reportedly objected to the proposal on the ground that all dump yards were located in his constituency causing inconvenience to several villages.
In the meantime, residents of Johrapuram turned away the garbage vehicles objecting to dumping of waste at the old place.
In the absence of any open site, the officials decided to dump the waste alongside the roads on the outskirts for the time being.
Meanwhile, TDP district president Somisetty Venkateswarlu sharply criticised the ruling party leaders and the municipal corporation for the ‘unwise' decision which put the residents to risk.
300 tonnes per day
He called for speeding up the process of identification of dump yards saying the corporation could not dispose of 300 tonnes of garbage per day without proper arrangement.
He went round the places where garbage was dumped along side the roads on Wednesday and asked the ruling party leaders to thrash out differences among themselves in the larger interests of the residents of the city. He wanted MP Kotla Jayasuryaprakasa Reddy to take initiative.
He accused the MP of not allotting any amount from his MPLADS for development of Kurnool city.
