Patna, May 30: The title of “urban slum” would suit the state capital the best. Over 750 metric tonnes of waste is generated in the city on a regular basis. The disposal of a major chunk of it causes inconvenience to the people.

While the state government has been unable to construct a solid waste management facility since 2007, a part of the total waste generated by the city is openly dumped near Veer Kuer Singh Park on Hardinge Park Road.

A number of small garbage container vans belonging to A2Z Infrastructure Private Limited, which collects garbage from various areas of the city, can be seen dumping the garbage near the park in the heart of the city.

“It seems that we are under a perpetual curse of overpowering stench, unprecedented upsurge of flies and mosquitoes since garbage container vans started dumping the wastes in our neighbourhood everyday. I think it has been more than two years since it started and now the situation has gone from bad to worse,” said Ravindra Singh, the officer-bearer of AG Vihar, a housing society located a few metres away from the dumping site.

Sources said the dump yard is a desolate government land of around seven to eight acres. It was earlier used as a stand for private buses. After the private bus stand was shifted to Mithapur, fairs and circuses were organised there.

When The Telegraph visited the place, it found three vans dumping garbage in the open and several rag pickers all around. Dumping van workers at the site said the garbage dumped by these vans is carted away by the bigger garbage container vans and discharge it at Ramchak-Bairiya landfill site.

People in the nearby areas differed. They claimed that piles of garbage always remain dumped at the site and it had become a major cause of inconvenience.

“How on earth can a place in the heart of the city be turned into a place for dumping garbage? I come to the (Veer Kuer Singh) park every morning to get some fresh air but I feel almost suffocated by the stench of the garbage,” said Shyam Sundar Das, a regular morning-walker.

The environmentalists of the city, meanwhile, have also shown their concern over the issue.

“Open dumping of garbage in a city is strictly prohibited under the Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. Such dumping of garbage can lead to adverse effects on the surroundings. Besides, the groundwater would also be highly contaminated. Moreover, it would lead to an unprecedented rise in the number of flies and mosquitoes in the surrounding areas,” A.K. Ghosh, the head of department of environment and water management, AN College, said.

A2Z Infrastructure, on the other hand, admitted that there was no provision of such temporary dumping at that spot.

“Garbage can be dumped at these places only when there is heavy traffic jam near Gandhi Setu and dumping containers are not able to reach the landfill site at Ramchak-Bairiya. This should not be done on a regular basis. The idea is to ensure that the city is garbage-free. I will look into the matter and if this is actually happening, dumping of garbage would be stopped at the location,” said a seniorA2Z official.