Jail road dump: Overflowing garbage irks locals, raises concern of water pollution

An open garbage dump in the old jail road area has become a headache for the commuters as the as the dump at the site extends beyond the designated area and encroaches onto the public road.

Additionally, a tubewell of the municipal corporation (MC) that supplied drinking water to the residents is also situated at the site, raising concerns of contamination and water-borne diseases.

The absence of waste management compactors and the failure to process the garbage at secondary collection points have further escalated the problem. No compactors have been installed at the sites despite repeated tenders, resulting in heaps of garbage. There is a lack of clarity about when the requisite equipment will be installed.

An employee of the municipal corporation, requesting anonymity, said that the garbage dump serves as the designated dumping ground for four city wards, numbers 54, 62, 64, and 69. The employee added massive heaps of waste accumulate in a single area and the shop owners from nearby areas directly dump their waste on the roads, worsening the situation. They added that stray dogs can be seen scavenging through the scattered garbage.

In June 2022, the technical committee of Ludhiana Smart City Limited had approved a request for the purchase of compactor machines for 22 secondary garbage collection points. However, the machinery has yet to arrive. Meanwhile, people continue to dump garbage in the open.

Another MC employee said on condition of anonymity that, “Although the shed and structure to house the compactor have been ready for over a year, the machinery has not arrived despite repeated demands. This is the primary reason why the garbage spills beyond the restricted area, causing problems for people.”

An MC operated tubewell in the centre if the dump, that supplies water to households, raises concerns of spread of water borne diseases.

Medical experts say that the water from this tubewell is prone to contamination.

Clarence J Samuel, department of community medicine head at Christian Medical College, shared the problems caused by the dump site. He said, “As the department’s corridor faces the dump yard, it is inconvenient for us and our students to be outside. The stench, swarms of flies and mosquitoes emanating from the dump have forced us to cover the balconies with curtains. However, this offers little respite due to the poor waste management. The area, once a haven for fresh air and a place to enjoy a cup of coffee, is now intolerable.”

He added that during brief periods when the tubewell is not operational, reverse pressure occurs, allowing contaminated water to seep into the ground. “This has a potential to pollute the groundwater supply that serves thousands of households,” he said.

MC health officer Vipul Malhotra said, “The building to house compactors and waste management machinery is ready and we have floated tenders again. As soon as we get responses and the process matures, we will proceed with the installation.”

Malhotra denied the possibility of water contamination.

Zonal commissioner inspects secondary dump sites

MC teams, comprising of zonal commissioner Neeraj Jain, corporation sanitation officer (CSO) Ashwani Sahota and sanitary inspectors, inspected secondary dump sites on Thursday to ensure better solid waste management in the city.

Jain conducted visited various sites, including those at the backside of the civil hospital, near Jalandhar bypass and Karabara Chowk.

Jain said that segregated waste was dumped at these sites reaming sites will also be inspected soon. The officials concerned have been directed to ensure regular lifting of garbage from the dump sites.

During the visit, Jain directed the garbage collectors to ensure segregation of waste at the sites. and sanitary inspectors were also part of the inspection teams.

MC teams conducted door-to-door awareness drives to encourage residents to hand over segregated waste, wet and dry, to the collectors. The civic body team from Zone D also demonstrated the process of segregating waste in ward number 91.

Working under the “mera shehar, mera maan” campaign, commissioner Shena Aggarwal had recently conducted a meeting with the zonal commissioners and directed them to conduct field visits.

The commissioner added that residents should hand over segregated waste to the waste collectors as this would help the authorities in improving solid waste management in the city.