GHMC’s drive to collect junk gets off to poor start

Hyderabad: Lack of publicity and a sluggish approach by the GHMC gave a special drive to collect scrap from households for ten days, dubbed ‘10D Recyclothon’, a bad start. Most of the citizens were not aware of such a programme, initiated by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The collection centres had no authorities present in most places.

The ‘10D Recyclothon’, launched today, a special drive is a joint initiation by GHMC and a private organisation to collect scrap and disposable material from citizens within the corporation limits between November 3 to 12, proven to a damp squib.

The drive was conceived in order to avoid throwing waste material into nalas and drains, which causes clogging, further leading to flooding of low lying areas during rains. Clogging has become a big challenge for the GHMC, which has left citizens furious during the prolonged rainy season.

Faced with a huge challenge to get drains desilted, the GHMC decided to throw in some prevention before cure. It was proposed to take up a special drive to collect scrap material and disposed items from people in the city directly.

Apart from such junk, the baldia wanted to sensitise the janta to know about the adverse effects of such a habit, but the authorities failed in their execution, adding to the lost list of GHMC failures this year.

At one of the collecting points at Baggi Khaana in Hyderabad, when enquired, none of the residents had any clue of such a programme. The GHMC collecting vans had not arrived, either.  “No such information was given to any of us,” Mustak Ali, locality resident, said.

In Secunderabad zone, at the Gandhinagar Circle’s collection point, at the GHMC park opposite Canara Bank, the irony was that the park’s gate remained locked, with absolutely no traces of any such activity. The situation was the same at the collection centre at NTR Stadium, with even the watchman at the gate not aware of any such program.

In Qutubullapur, day one of the drive started on a good note, where officials were able to collect e-waste, broken furniture, waste plastic material, and also able to educate people about their mission.

Mayor Bonthu Ram Mohan Rao, on Sunday afternoon, tweeted a photograph of himself, while inspecting lifting of garbage and sensitising residents of Vishnupuri colony at Malkajgiri not to throw rubbish.

Citizens have to come forward voluntarily to clean up waste from their households so that in future, trash is not thrown on roads or drains. The city hopes in the remaining days of this drive, powered by an innovative idea to clear all unwanted stuff across six zones and 30 circles, and to sensitise 12 million citizens within its limits, besides collecting a lot junk, will be achieved.