Assam: Door-to-door garbage collection turns messy in Guwahati city

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Guwahati Municipal Corporation’s (GMC) ambitious door-to-door garbage collection initiative, launched earlier this year, has failed to deliver, leaving residents frustrated and dealing with unsanitary conditions.

The programme aimed to streamline civic services, including garbage collection, emergency response, and utility billing, by assigning unique house numbers to all properties. However, this key component remains unimplemented, with many households still without proper garbage collection. But more than half of the year has gone by with no implementation, which has made the situation worse.

Even the NGO body in-charge of garbage collection receives complaints from residents who call them. The garbage collectors behave badly towards the residents and demand excessive tips, which make the garbage collection system more demoralized. GMC engaged GeoVista Technologies Private Limited to carry out a door-to-door survey and install smart house number plates on every property.

A local resident said, “The GMC dustbin on the left side of the road from Hatigaon Chariali to Bhetapara is overflowing with trash, spilling over into the road.”

A resident of Beltola said, “The garbage collection van has not arrived for over a week. The head of the NGO does not answer our calls. The Durga Puja has ended, but the collection van has not yet arrived. As a result of the overflowing trash, the number of mosquitoes had risen.”

Another Hatigaon resident said, “Even minor boys come to pick up trash. When questioned about why minors are working in this field, they refuse to come back the next day and instead demand more money. GMC officers have to keep an eye on the NGOs that hire children.”

“The garbage collectors don’t take any precautions for safety. It gets highly unsafe for them when they don’t wear boots or hand gloves. The trash pours from garbage pick-up vans onto the road since they are not covered,” the resident continued.

A GMC official said, “There have been some internal issues between GMC and the NGOs involved, which is why we are lagging behind in this door-to-door garbage collection initiative. It will take some time to implement because new instructions have been established and the project has been assigned to a different agency.”

The issue GMC has with the NGOs is not new and has existed for a very long time. The funds approved for the GMC need to be utilized for the execution of these initiatives, but they are still unable to do so. Therefore, the true question at hand is which party is more responsible for this garbage collection mess—the NGO or the GMC?

One more Hatigaon resident remarked, “No GMC work is perfect. Until date, the area’s spray car for killing mosquitoes during this season has not been utilized. They have no regard for the general public. They just put in the effort to appear as though they are making progress, but they are still far behind.”

A Public Health Department official commented, “I have also suffered as a result of the inconsistent garbage collection schedule. For this reason, I dig out a pit in my backyard and dispose of my trash there. They arrived to pick up the trash ten days ago. The trash is destroying the environment and giving out an awful smell. Waste only starts to harm the environment after two days in storage, but after ten days, this waste becomes mosquito breeding ground, seriously affecting our health. They ought to maintain and properly care for it if this is a smart city.” These minor issues should also be resolved right away if Guwahati is to live up to its reputation as a smart city. The fact that the authorities are ignoring these problems raises serious concerns among the public.

 Also Read: City’s Garbage Crisis: Guwahati Municipal Corporation’s Inefficacy Exposed (sentinelassam.com)

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