Residents of Dwarka in different sectors are in a bind over garbage dumped in drains that's choking the water flow and adding to the toxic content of the area. It's posing a serious health hazard for residents living along the drains in sectors 3, 5 11 and 12.
Floating garbage mounds in the drain present an ugly picture and puncture the claim of civic authorities and their cleanliness sloganeering, say some residents, who complain that no official was responding to their complaints.
Consider this Palam drain that goes through the sectors 3, 5, 11 and 12, or the one called Trunk Drain 5 in sectors 3 and 13 – one can see garbage piles floating in the catchment area of the drain and choking the drain in the process.
A huge mound of garbage can be seen next to a petrol station at sector 11. Several complaints by the residents of flats and societies nearby have failed to yield desired results. “The civic authorities are passing the buck instead of acting on complaints,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of sector 13.
“Behind societies such as Metro View Apartments, Netaji Subhash Apartments in Sector 13, there's the TD 5, which is full of garbage and filth,” he said adding, “Even the garbage collectors find this place easy to dispose the garbage.”
The civic bodies should act and stop this nuisance, Kumar said.
Durga Pooja Apartment residents called on the mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), Kamalijeet Sehrawat, who gave them a patient hearing, but informed them that drains did not come under her jurisdiction. “But she promised help. She said she could act on the grounds of sanitation, which came under her jurisdiction” said RWA president of Durga Pooja Apartments, Ajay Chawdhary.
“Mayor assured us that she would raise the issue of garbage with the concerned officials in the DDA flood division and see if barricading of the drain could be done,” Chawdhary said.
The residents complain that the councillor never visited their area and they were unsure as to whom to approach.
Similar is the situation in societies along the Palam drain. Former general secretary of Adarsh Apartments in Sector 3 of Pocket 16, Uma Shankar, told City Spidey that the issue should be taken up seriously as the practice of dumping garbage has increased. “Authorities must take urgent steps to improve the situation,” he said.
The condition of the Palam drain near a bridge in Sector 11 is a constant source of worry for the residents near the locality.
Sunita Chawla, a resident of sector 11, said, “This is making the already toxic water more toxic and poses a health hazard and damages environment too.”
Civic authorities are making a joke of the Clean India campaign, she said, adding that different bodies continue to throw the ball in each other’s court rather than act while people suffer.
