BMC pins hope to stamp out woes of Daruthenga residents

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Bhubaneswar: Following vehement protests by the residents of Daruthenga village on Capital outskirts, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Friday, stated that it would stop dumping wastes at Bhuasuni once the Micro Composting Centres (MCCs) start working.
BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary said that in the next six to eight months, as many as 43 MCCs will start functioning which will help in composting of green wastes and recycling of non-biodegradable wastes through bio-mining process.
“Tender for the project has already been handed. While the layout process of 10 composting centres has been completed, construction of 25 such MCCs has already begun. The solid wastes dumped at the Daruthenga yard will be recycled after bio-mining. We are trying to complete the project as soon as possible. Disposal of garbage at Daruthenga will be stopped as soon as the MCCs start functioning,” Chaudhary said.
While the protest against the civic authority over dumping of city’s waste at Daruthenga has been continuing since 2015, the issue escalated after things went out of control recently. With about 500 tonne of wastes being dumped near the village every day, locals have complained of foul smell, pollution and breeding of mosquitoes in the area.
Prasant Routray, former sarpanch of the village, had earlier said, “We have been asking for an alternative dumping site, but to no avail. The conditions have become unbearable and the situation turns worse after rains. Moreover, the waste is also a threat to the animals in the nearby Nandankanan Zoological Park.”
Recently, senior Congress leader and Jatni MLA Sura Routray had also threatened self-immolation in front of Naveen Niwas if his demands that include relocation of Daruthenga dumping yard were not fulfilled within 35 days.
It is worth mentioning here that Bhubaneswar, which was Number 1 smart city in the country in 2016, has slipped to 311 and 166 spots in terms of cleanliness in the first and second quarters of Swachh Survekshan Leagure 2020.
Notably, urban planners and experts have blamed BMC’s poor management of solid waste for the fall in ranking. The Swach Survekshan parameters include wastewater treatment and reuse, solid waste management and faecal sludge management as key components for judging a city’s cleanliness.