Patna, Aug. 22: The civic body in the state capital practises equality, at least in waste disposal. Stink emanating from unattended garbage stings all. Even VIPs in posh areas are not spared.

The Telegraph visited eight posh areas in the city to take stock of the garbage disposal system. The outcome was shocking. In all these areas, waste remains attended for a week, almost. In a few of these areas, garbage is carted just once in a fortnight.

If that is the scene of posh localities, the situation elsewhere is anybody’s guess.

Boring Canal Road, Ashok Rajpath, Rajendranagar, Kadamkuan, Dariyapur, East Lohanipur, Patna University and Musalhapur Hatt areas are considered to be the best localities in the city. But garbage strewn along the streets paint a sorry picture of the areas.

The Boring Canal Road area houses former Bihar chief ministers Satyendra Narayan Singh and Chandrashekhar Singh and other eminent politicians. Even they are not spared from the nauseating stench of garbage.

The waste rots in trash bins in the locality for almost a fortnight before being carted away by the civic body officials.

The scene is no different at Rajendranagar. Moinul Haq Stadium, CRPF camp Premchand Rangshala and hostels of the Patna University are in this area. But the civic body doesn’t pay any special attention to it.

Nauseating stench near the statue of Munshi Premchand compels passers-by to cover their nose.

The litter from a dumping yard, just 150m away from the house of deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, is cleared once in 45 days.

Final year BA student Ramesh Kumar said: “The stench of garbage is sickening. A huge garbage dump in front the university gate invites crows and dogs to feed on waste.”

Garbage dumped near deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi’s residence. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

The picture is no different at Muradpur Chauhatta in Ashok Rajpath area, where the famous Khuda Bakhsh library is situated. Heap of garbage on a dump yard, barely 50m from the library, welcomes the bookworms. It is cleared once every five days.

Hafiz Ahmed, one of the members of the library, said: “I fail to understand why garbage is dumped near the library.”

So do others.

Heap of garbage is a common feature near the house of BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha and MLA Arun Kumar Sinha at Kadamkuan area.

Munshi Prasad, a resident of Kadamkuan area, said: “If areas near the politicians’ houses are not clean, what masses can expect?”

A senior citizen said: “It is embarrassing to stay in a locality surrounded by garbage. More waste bins and their regular cleaning can gift us a healthy atmosphere to live in.”

Garbage dumping ground can be found near Nandini Dental Clinic at Dariyapur area on Nala Road. A commercial hub, the area houses some apartments as well.

Crowded throughout the day, litter has become a part and parcel of life of the shopkeepers and residents of the area.

“Door-to-door waste collection and carting of garbage is irregular. Garbage remains unattended for over a week, making the situation unhygienic,” said a staff of Nandini Dental Clinic.

Cut to the house of TV celebrity Shekhar Suman at East Lohanipur. Same stench will welcome you to the star’s house, near the ward office of the Patna Municipal Corporation. The dumped garbage is carted once in every four days.

At Mushlahpur Hatt, passers-by cannot but cover their nose, as garbage remains dumped on the middle of the road. With fruits and vegetable market in the area, residents keep their windows shut to avoid the disgusting stench.

The Patna Municipal Corporation has hired a private company, A to Z, for cleaning the garbage in the city. But it has hardly been effective. The roadside trash bins remain attended for hours, allowing dogs and other animals to feed on them.

The Patna Municipal Corporation has launched a cleanliness drive by announcing penalty of Rs 200 for throwing garbage on road. It has also decided to impose a fine of Rs 100 fine on those spitting, urinating and littering in public places. But their impact is yet to be seen. The civic body authorities claim that they had been doing their job seriously. Additional municipal commissioner Chandarma Singh said: “PMC workers are giving their best to clean the garbage from crowded areas. Ten workers have been deployed in each of the nine wards in city. They are working round the clock to keep our surrounding spruced up.”

He said: “Instead of blaming PMC, people should contribute to cleanliness. They should not throw garbage on road, it creates more problem for us and increase our work load.”

The mayor of Patna, Afzal Imam, was not available for comment.