Besides being an eyesore, rainwater scatters garbage across the city, posing a health hazard, and extending an open invitation to stray dogs that often target people.
Published Aug 09, 2024 | 10:09 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 09, 2024 | 10:09 AM
Monsoons spell trouble for waste management in Hyderabad
The southwest monsoon has set over Hyderabad, and the story is no different from previous years.
The city’s waste mismanagement has made garbage heaping up at various places. Besides being an eyesore, rainwater scatters them across the city, posing a health hazard, and extending an open invitation to stray dogs that often target people.
Mounds of trash are everywhere — in Old City, Erragada, or near Raj Bhavan. They have become synonymous with Hyderabad.
“It is a little uncomfortable to see so much wet waste piled up at a place where I buy food,” said Srinivasulu, a resident of Erragadda.
Shopping at the Erragadda Rythu Bazaar, he said garbage heaps are common in the market.
“There is no proper system to dispose of waste. Whatever waste is around, they take it away in a wheelbarrow and dump it elsewhere,” Kotaiah, a vendor at the market, said.
Waste littered on the roads of a residential area near The Park, Raj Bhavan Road
Similar scenes of garbage piles were visible in Feelkhana except that plastic waste has added different hues. Piled close to a compound wall at a busy intersection, it asserted its presence by choking the narrow streets.
In the famed Begum Baazar, too, heaps of garbage raise a stink. Venture further into the Old City, a revolting stench envelops the rustic charm.
“The traffic keeps coming, the rain keeps pouring, and the trash keeps growing,” Krishna, a tea stall owner on Feelkhana Road said. Adding that waste management is inadequate, he noted that ragpickers did some amount of cleaning.
Erragadda and Old City aside, even Raj Bhavan Road, where the governor resides, is not immune to the trash piles. Located a little away from The Park Hotel, numerous sacks, pieces of wood, and stones ‘adorn’ the residential area.
“There is no plan as such for waste management during the monsoon,” Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation supervisor Ramakrishna said. He stated that they function as per GHMC Commissioner Amrapali Kata’s directions.
At Erragadda Model Rythu Baazar, there is a heap of wet waste right at the entrance
“The day after it rains, it is crucial that we clear up the mud-filled roads to prevent accidents,” he added.
Lakshmi, a civic worker for about 20 years, begins her day at about 5 am. “The rains make it harder to clean, but what can we do? The roads need to be cleaned,” the woman, a Safai Karamchari, said.
In 2023, following the failure of a ‘no-bin’ experiment, GHMC decided to set up over 2,500 dustbins citywide. However, the bins are largely missing in the city.
Incidentally, GHMC installed double and triple bins to segregate the waste. However, the public just dumped waste, without segregating them.
Every monsoon, the city is reminded of its need for better waste management practices and more dustbins, and a hue and cry is raised. However, after the monsoon, the voices fall silent, till the next rainy season.
(Edited by Majnu Babu)
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