Mucky affair: Garbage dumped beside the side of Darbhanga-Samastipur road. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Darbhanga, Sept. 6: A2Z Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd, the agency in charge of carrying out sanitation work in the town, has been disposing solid waste for the past one month at Tara Lahi village, causing trouble to villagers as well as commuters.

Darbhanga Municipal Corporation (DMC) had asked the private agency to dispose garbage along the Darbhanga-Samastipur road till a permanent dumping ground was made available. According to the draft agreement, it was the civic body’s responsibility to provide the ground.

The deputy general manager of A2Z Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Vikas Kumar Jha, told The Telegraph: “We could not start work even after the draft agreement because of unavailability of a dumping ground. We started work in 16 wards and eight main roads of the town from August 4 after being promised that a permanent dumping ground would be made available within a month.”

He added: “Owing to lack of a dumping ground, we have to cart solid waste from the town and dispose it along the road. We pick up around 40-45 tonnes of waste daily and dump it there.”

Tani Lal Yadav, a resident of Tara Lahi village, said: “The foul smell emanating from the garbage is making our lives miserable. Our residence is just 400m from the dumping site and it is difficult to bear the stench. We are afraid that we might fall ill.”

Yadav added: “We threatened the truck drivers of the private agency not to dispose filth here. Even the villagers had protested but the trucks arrive at night and dump the garbage.”

Faiz Hassan, a contractor who has to pass through Darbhanga-Samastipur road regularly, said: “It is impossible to cross the road without using a handkerchief to cover our mouth and nose.”

Sources said the dumping site had already been changed several times. The private agency might stall work if a permanent ground is not provided soon.

The deputy commissioner of DMC, Dayashankar Bahadur, told The Telegraph: “A committee formed under the chairmanship of deputy mayor Badra Jama Khan has been searching for a 10-acre land. We have seen two to three plots but none of them were suitable for waste disposal.”