Motihari/ Patna: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's event in Motihari on April 10, in which he gave the clarion call of making the country open defecation free by October 2, 2019, has left behind a foul smell. Trash and human waste of the 20,000 swachhagrahis (cleanliness volunteers) who had come for the event has been dumped in and around the Dhanauti river on the outskirts of the East Champaran district headquarters town, around 153km north of Patna.

The swachhagrahis came from all over the country and stayed for over three days to attend the finale of the centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran Satyagraha.

The Dhanauti is an offshoot of the Gandak near Jagdishpur under Nautan block in West Champaran district, and merges back with its parent river near Pipra Kothi in East Champaran.

Motihari residents found human excreta and garbage floating on the Dhanauti after Lalluji and Sons, the private event management company that had set up the tent city for the swachhagrahis near the city airstrip, pressed into action its septic tank cleaning vehicles while dismantling the tents.

These vehicles sucked human excreta collected in septic tanks catering to around 700 toilets built in the tent city, and dumped it in the river.

"You could clearly see the waste and human excreta being dumped in the river. When we asked the vehicle drivers not to do it, they mockingly said that they were doing their job. I am an eyewitness to this filthy and nauseating act," said Guddu Kumar, a local resident.

Denial on record

Ashok Kumar Mishra, another resident, said: "Our life has virtually become hell due to the foul stench arising out of the excreta of 20,000 swachhagrahis in the Dhanauti."

Nikhil Agrawal, site manager for Lalluji and Sons, denied the waste was dumped in the river.

However, Motihari Nagar Parishad chairperson Anju Devi said: "Excreta has been dumped in and around Dhanauti river by the tent city makers. We had to sprinkle bleaching powder in the entire area to remove the bad odour."

Motihari district magistrate Raman Kumar did not answer repeated calls from The Telegraph. Some of his officials denied the excreta was dumped, while others accepted that it did happen. No one agreed to comment on record.

Asked about the dumping, deputy development commissioner (DDC) Akhilesh Kumar Singh said: "I have no information about such an incident. I will get it verified."

Ajit Kumar, Motihari deputy collector, land reforms, said: "The event management company dumped faeces near the river bank on the first day it was removing it. The administration got information about it and we called its people and warned them that an FIR will be lodged against them if they continue."

Another official said on the condition of anonymity that the event management company was allotted a place outside Motihari town where it had to dump the garbage in a ditch and cover it up with mud and bleaching powder, but it chose to dispose of around 10 tankers full of human waste at different places.