Polythene and other solid waste dumped in the Bali Jatra ground in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Nov. 30: The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) is finding it difficult to clear the garbage generated during the Bali Jatra, which ended on Sunday.

One can find heaps of garbage, including polythene bags, scattered all over 40 acres of the Bali Jatra ground. Overnight rain made matters worse for the civic authorities as waterlogging in some areas posed problems in manual removal of waste.

The “callous” attitude of the corporation has drawn criticism for not initiating adequate and concrete steps for the clearance of the solid waste, which poses a threat to public health and environment, even after 48 hours of the festival.

“Though the fair has ended, many people are still coming to the Bali Jatra ground to shop from vendors who are yet to shut down their kiosks. However, the place is stinking as the garbage is yet to be removed by the CMC officials,” Kailash Chandra Behera, a visitor said.

A local resident said that stench from dumped garbage has almost become a regular feature here. Every year after the end of Bali Jatra, the civic authorities fail to clear the place fast.

This year, more than 1,200 kiosks, mostly eateries, had come up during the festival. The district administration and the CMC had initiated a number of measures to restrict the use of polythene during the event.

But all such measures have failed to serve the purpose, as one can find polythene cups, bags and others non-degradable items scattered all around the place.

It may be recalled that the CMC authorities had engaged private contractors besides regular cleaning staff to maintain proper sanitary conditions in and around the Bali Jatra ground during the eight-day long fair this year.

The decision to outsource clearance of garbage was taken to supplement the civic body’s health wing that was facing a shortage of sanitary staff. But after the fair ended, it is now the sole responsibility of the CMC to sanitise the place.

However, CMC officials said that last evening’s rain affected work of clearance of garbage from the ground on Tuesday. “At the same time, a number of small traders are yet to vacate their kiosks, which is also creating lot of problems in clearing garbage,” city health officer N.C .Raj said.

According to Raj, all the cleaning staffs in ward no. 12 are presently engaged in the cleaning of the roads in the area. Moreover, the process of clearing the garbage would speed up after the ground is completely freed from kiosks that are still in operation. “It may take another couple of days to clean up the entire ground,” he said.