Roads filled with muck and garbage outside Bhubaneswar railway station. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 29: The area near Bhubaneswar railway station is stinking, with garbage strewn all around it, thanks to the eateries in the area.

Sources said most of these eateries were unauthorised. They not only dump waste on the road, but also release a lot of dirty water, creating pollution.

“One can grasp how clean the city is by taking a look at its railway station and its surroundings.

“The condition of the Bhubaneswar railway station is pathetic, with garbage scattered all over the area. The stench is unbearable,” said Minakshi Jena, an engineering student from Cuttack.

It gets worse even after a light shower. Dirty water flows onto the road. Following rain, the back of the station gets so mucky that the stretch from the shops bordering the slum behind it to the station gate becomes hard to negotiate.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has never put enough dustbins in the area, which is thronged by thousands of people every day. Apart from the eateries, the fruit vendors, too, generate a lot of garbage.

The dirty pool of water punctuating the stretch at the back of the station has turned into a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.

“Sanitation of the area has gone haywire because of the unauthorised vendors. They do not pay taxes and are responsible for polluting the area. The corporation has decided to spray bleaching powder in the area after removing garbage,” said local councillor Guru Charan Sahoo.

Earlier, the civic body had decided to relocate eight kiosks, including booths of Odisha State Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Limited and Odisha State Poultry Products Co-operative Marketing Federation Limited, from near the railway station.

Though the civic body has allotted an alternative plot for the kiosks, they are yet to be relocated. Corporation recovery officer Sumita Behera said that though the civic body had carried out eviction drives in the area, the vendors had reappeared.

“As most of the vendors do their business on movable trolleys, it becomes very difficult to vacate them,” said Behera.