Pune: Bavdhan Residents Fed Up Of Garbage Issue, PMC Officers Feign Ignorance

Shail Shukla
Bavdhan, 5th March 2021: Residents of Bavdhan have once again raised their voices on social media platforms over the garbage dumping in the locality.

The residents conducted e-dharna on Friday and posted garbage photos on social media platforms to elevate the issue. The residents have complained that Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) neglected and has not given a permanent solution for the problem.

Dushyant Bhatia, a resident, said, “We kept raising tickets after tickets on the PMC care portal. However, every day our tickets were closed. Only after we call somebody and escalate the matter, then somebody would come and do a little bit of work and go away. We have a full checklist of people we get in touch with and can show the tickets we have raised. Unfortunately, the ticket gets closed after 24 hours. A call for feedback comes, but nothing happens. We have gone the right way and tried to find the solution amicably. Since we were not getting a response, we decided to do e-dharna to get our voices heard.”

“If authorities do not pay attention to the issue, we will get on to the road to clean it and will demand salary from PMC,” says Dushyant.

Another resident Deepa Prabhu said, “The main reason to start the e-dharna was to raise the issue of garbage that is being piled up in the streets. It has become a recurrent thing for the last one year. People are resorted to throwing litter on the streets. Secondly, the streets are not being cleaned regularly even in the winters when there is a lot of leaf shedding.”

“Citizens and the volunteers from our forum have been continuously raising the issue. PMC has an app where you can raise a complaint about the area. For two and three months we have raised the complaints. Some of the complaints get closed even without resolving. PMC authorities are coming and resolving the issues in some cases. However, it is not a permanent solution. We can not be sitting and complain every day. The problem is recurring in the same places, and no permanent solution has been given for this. PMC authorities know the areas which have problems. There are some chronic spots which are being left unattended”, says Prabhu.

She further adds that during the Corona Pandemic, things have taken a backseat. Not enough cleaning has been done. PMC continually complains that they don’t have the workforce and are too overloaded due to the pandemic. It is getting riskier. There are animals on the roads; dogs are running behind the people. Even the evening walk has become difficult for senior citizens and children.

“The one more reason behind all these problems is illegal encroachments on the street. All these streets, which have been made empty now, have been occupied by street vendors. They dump their waste on the streets and go away. Everything is linked to each other. Bavdhan has been neglected for a long time now, and we want permanent solutions to all these problems. We have been in constant touch with the corporation, the police, and corporators and have extended our support. Once in a while, it is fine we understand, but every time if it is neglected, then we are not here to listen to the excuses”, said Prabhu.

Another resident said that garbage is not being collected properly and leads to a lot of problems. One day authorities do collect the Garbage, but the next day the story is the same. Things were much better before the lockdown. It started with the lockdown. Even when the lockdown was uplifted, things remained the same. Even the highways which are attached to Bavdhan areas are dumped with garbage.

She further says, “Garbage is not something which not only looks dirty, it creates a lot of health hazard. The flies, cockroaches, mice ultimately enter our houses, creating a lot of health issues. We are already going through a pandemic, and if this continues, I won’t be surprised we go through the same thing again.”

Nishi Kavuri, who lives near Chandni Chowk, said, “I have been posting the pictures every day, and there no resolution has been made regarding it. Yesterday, PMC responded to my post and said that they had raised the complaint, which is just a joke. There is a WhatsApp group where we can complain to PMC about the garbage in the area. However, the complaints kept shutting down, and nothing was done regarding the issue. They want this thing to be highlighted and want attention.”

Corporator Dilip Vedepatil said, “We regularly pay attention to the garbage issue and collect the garbage. There is litter in the Bavdhan Budruk area which comes under Bhugaon gram panchayat. We do not have garbage on our side. However, we will hold the meeting on Monday or Tuesday and will resolve the issue.”

When contacted, Kothrud-Bavdhan ward officer and Assistant Municipal Commissioner Sandip Kadam said that he will callback but did not.

PMC Zonal Officer and Deputy Commissioner Nitin Udas said that he had no clue about the ongoing campaign on Twitter. However, when Punekarnews.in sent the tweets to him, he did not respond.
After which, Punekarnews.in tried establishing contact with him again. But, his phone was switched off.

This report will be updated once we receive a comment from PMC officials.