CLOGGED DUMPING ROAD GUTTER RESIDENTS’ BANE
Each year, before monsoon, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) spends crores in just two months to clean the drains or nullahs across the city. But, alas, while BMC is entrusted the duty of cleaning every big, medium and small nullah, people living in slums and small settlements complain that BMC does not clean the drains of their area, thus making their life miserable during monsoon. Residents of Panchratna Society, Dhole Chawl at Dumping Road in Mulund are facing a similar situation. Since the past 2 years, BMC has not cleaned a big gutter in this region, as a result people are quite annoyed. They have made several complaints to BMC, but in vain. This year, the residents approached Home Times to give them relief from their woes.
Lamenting over the unclean drain issue, Ganesh Shivram Pawar told Home Times, “Recently, a contractor took the contract of cleaning the big gutter in our area, but he left the work incomplete and went away. However, due to his negligence, the small drain in front of my house has been blocked and I am having a severe problem. Mosquitoes have multiplied in large numbers. Due to this, it is troublesome to sleep at night. ” He mourned, “The situation had become so grim, the toilet water in my house started overflowing and polluted our house. Hence, two days back I was forced to clean the drain myself.”
Though Pawar has cleaned the drain and kept the filth outside the drain, the question is: Who will pick the filth? Will BMC come and pick or poor citizens will have to even dump the filth themselves?? Pawar informed Home Times that BMC employees have declined to collect the filth that he removed for the drain!!!
Another resident Prashant Bhimraj Kharat told Home Times, “We have been insisting that the contractor complete the cleaning work of the drain and he keeps assuring, but his promises are not serious.” Kharat further informed, “The residents of this region are struggling for 2 years for a solution to the niggling problem of the big gutter. Due to the uncleanliness, there is a heap of garbage. As a result, the menace of mosquitoes has become a big issue.”
It may be noted that the gutter has no cover or a lid hence at night, during darkness, the gutter is an open invitation to death. Also, the open gutter felicitates the mosquitoes to create terror in the region. The helpless residents told Home Times that before monsoon if the gutter is not cleaned then they would have to face a horrifying time during the rainy season.
Home Times hopes BMC will show empathy and get the gutter cleaned before the monsoon.
