Garbage on Boring Road in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, July 22: Dirty streets are nothing new to the state capital residents. But two days without removal of garbage from roads can be overwhelming for the most hardened among us.

Most of you would be well advised to keep a handkerchief (to cover your noses) or some fragrance (to revive yourself) when you step out on the road. On the second day after A2Z Infrastructure Private Limited — the agency that had been appointed by Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) to cart away rubbish from nine major streets — suspended its activities, the roads of the city turned into a wasteland.

The garbage vats had spilled over and polluted the roads and attracted mongrels, pigs, crows and cattle. The stink was unbearable. The civic body claimed that it had undertaken a special garbage removal drive. But it obviously did not succeed.

“The suspension of services by A2Z Infrastructure Private Limited has caused delay in the collection of garbage from those areas which were under its jurisdiction. However, garbage has not been left unattended anywhere in the city. All resources of the corporation, including all its sweepers, have been deployed to collect garbage from the affected areas. In fact, all officers and sanitation workers from all four circles of the civic body are on foot since early morning to ensure a garbage-free city. We have also hired private labourers for this drive,” said Chandra Singh, the additional commissioner (planning and development) of PMC.

The residents of the city were, however, not too happy with the results of the contingency measures that PMC claimed to have adopted.

“It is a time to celebrate the great garbage festival in Patna as one can see abundance of waste all around the city. I was on my way from Ashok Rajpath, through Exhibition Road and Bailey Road to reach my home. I felt like my nose was burning with the stench,” said Subhash Kumar, a resident of the Boring Road area.

Even the mayor was not convinced by the contingency measures of the civic body.

“Nothing is being done by the corporation to contain the problem. The commissioner is sitting on the money that has been sanctioned for the payment to A2Z Infrastructure Private Limited under the central government’s scheme — Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. He could have easily cleared the dues and prevented the situation from spiralling out of control,” said mayor Afzal Imam.

A2Z Infrastructure Private Limited sent a formal notice regarding stopping the work to the civic body on July 20. The company officials said they were not in a position to continue with the service after PMC failed to clear its outstanding dues. The civic body has not paid a single penny to the company since January last year, when the firm was awarded the contract of garbage collection.

A source said a six-member committee constituted for the verification of the bills submitted by A2Z Infrastructure Private Limited with photographs has submitted its report to the empowered standing committee. The panel has cleared the report and forwarded it to the commissioner. He is likely to forward it to the urban development department for the final clearance. After that, a part of the payment would be made to the firm in a couple of days.