WINDOW TO THE WASTE

Patna, Jan. 14: “Impressed” with the work of A 2 Z, a private body hired by Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), the state government has given the agency the responsibility to collect garbage from all wards in the city.

The decision, taken by deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi at an urban development department meeting on Wednesday, has however not gone down well with the residents of the 10 wards that the agency has been looking after since January 2010.

The Telegraph today visited seven areas — Boring Road, Sheikhpura, Raja Bazaar, Gandhi Maidan, Anta Ghat, Frazer Road and Ashok Rajpath — under the purview of A 2 Z and discovered that all of them lay in abject neglect.

Roads were littered with garbage. Cows, pigs and other animals could be seen feeding on the waste spilling from the dustbins (in areas where the bins had been placed).

It was clear that the agency had not even been doing enough to maintain cleanliness the wards that it was assigned earlier.

Ashok Rajpath: Garbage heaps lay untouched outside the Patna University gate. “Look at this place. It has not been cleared since God knows when. We wonder if at all there is any agency looking after the garbage collection,” said a student.

Rajiv Ranjan, another student, said the garbage dump outside the university gate is “a complete disrespect of the institution”. He said: “We have complained to the hostel warden and the principal, but nothing has happened so far.”

Ranjit Kumar, a student, told The Telegraph that he had read of an agency being given the responsibility to clean up the entire city. “This is probably one of those areas which A 2 Z was supposed to maintain. What have they done? We can imagine what will happen to the whole city now,” he said, insisting that the government should take the responsibility in its own hands.

Boring Road: The situation was no different in the upscale area. A huge garbage dump was found barely 50 metres away from a primary school. No dustbin was placed there.

“The garbage is affecting our business. Customers always complain about the waste dumped bang opposite our restaurant,” said the owner of Emperor restaurant.

Sheikhpura: The busy commercial area had a dustbin but it was full and the garbage was spilling over. Garbage was strewn all over the place. Bindeshear Prasad, a shopkeeper, said: “We have got used to the stench and filth. It is difficult for us to comprehend why the authorities do not clean up this place. At least when the dustbin is full, they can take it away and replace it.”

Raja Bazaar: The situation was worse here. People were found relieving themselves in the open and the garbage lay scattered outside the dustbin. There are open drains, offal from the market is dumped there.

Anta Ghat: The situation was no different at Anta Ghat near Patna Collectorate. Garbage lay scattered on the roads.

Frazer Road: Barely 50 metres from the Akashwani Bhawan, ragpickers were seen collecting polythene bags from an unattended dustbin. Garbage was spilling from the bin and the stench was unbearable. The status of a VIP Road didn’t help the area much.

Gandhi Maidan: Even the historic Gandhi Maidan, which sees so many activities round the year, lie in a pitiable state.

An A 2 Z box was kept in a corner but it looked more of a showpiece than anything else. Just outside the Gandhi Maidan police station, there was a huge garbage dump.

A morning walker at Gandhi Maidan said: “I do not visit that part. It may sound funny, but the stench is so bad that it may leave me unconscious.”

Abhishek Anand, the operational manager of A 2 Z, Patna, had an explanation. “We follow a certain criteria before keeping the dustbin. There must be a space of at least 10 feet, so that our truck can enter the place to take out the garbage box,” he said.

Asked why so many areas of the city remain unclean, Anand said: “Our trucks keep moving throughout the city round the clock. They pick up any box that they find is full. Since the government has given us the responsibility to clean up the entire city, we will try our best to live up to the expectation of the people. Even the people must not litter the city.”