Ghaziabad civic agency cleans drains ahead of monsoon, but silt dumped on road angers residents

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation on Thursday said that it has finished the work of cleaning drains across the city ahead of the monsoon season. However, residents have lodged complaints stating that silt extracted from the drains and dumped nearby has polluted the environment.

The corporation took up cleaning of drains as private contractors did not turn up this year. The civic agency has about 553 drains across Ghaziabad for which the cleaning work has ended.

“Although the drain cleaning has been completed, heaps of silt has been dumped adjacent to the cleaned drains. The dried up silt results in dust pollution and also emanates unbearable stench. If it rains in between, the muck gets stuck in tyres of vehicles and further creates unclean surroundings. It is a feature witnessed across the city,” said BK Pandey, a resident of Vaishali.

Ahead of the drain cleaning exercise, the corporation had said that they will complete cleaning of all drains by June 20.

“The drains near the service lanes are yet to be cleaned. The agency has cleaned up the main drains and has left the silt on the roadside to dry up. This is creating an unhygienic condition. Further, there has been no resolution in low-lying areas and they will result in water-logging once it rains. It is a yearly feature in Sahibabad,” said Jugal Kishor, a resident of Shalimar Garden.

“The silt has been left near the drains to dry up and all the dumps will be picked up by our vehicles in the next couple of days. We have identified 51 low-lying areas across the city and efforts are on to arrange for motor-pumps, which will be deployed as soon as the rain starts. Apart from this, we have also created quick reaction teams in all the five zones. They will rush to waterlogged areas with equipment and flush out water,” said Mithilesh Kumar, corporation health officer.

Some of the areas that are affected by waterlogging include New Bus Adda, Patel Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Nehru Nagar, Ramte Ram Road, Old Bus Stand, Navyug Market, Lohiya Nagar, Seemant Vihar (Kaushambi), Brij Vihar, Mohan Nagar, Apsara border, Rajendra Nagar, Pandav Nagar, Karpuripuram and Govindpuram among others.

Officials of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said that they will inspect the silt dumped on the roadside and take corrective measures.

“We are also issuing letters to the agencies to get the silt cleared at the earliest in order to prevent road dust, which further affects air quality, besides posing health risk for residents and commuters,” said Utsav Sharma, UPPCB regional officer.