Kurnool's sanitation drives citizens crazy

Kurnool: Sanitary conditions in Kurnool present a picture of neglect. With a population of 6.5 lakh and growing by the day, the city is woefully short in maintaining the environment.

Garbage bins are overflowing at Kallur, Budhwarpet, Vaddegeri, Krishnanagar, and Abbasnagar areas. The drains are clogged at several places and have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Fogging machines are not to be seen anywhere. Roadside eateries near open nalas are adding to the problem.

With just three staff members in the public health section, maintaining sanitation in the city has become a herculean task. An official of the Kurnool Municipal Corporation told this correspondent that to ease the situation, they had roped in 23 DWCRA groups consisting of 416 members and entrusted them with the sanitation work.

With the merger of Kallur into KMC limits, KMC area has expanded to 50 sq km from 15 sq km. He said that the Kurnool City is divided into 11 sanitary divisions for maintenance of sanitation. Each sanitary division headed by one sanitary inspector and 2 P.H staff and 470 public health workers are working in 11 sanitary divisions for maintaining effective sanitation. There are 40 tractors (17 departmental and 23 private vehicles) in this corporation for lifting and transportation of garbage from various sanitary divisions to the compost yard at Gangapuram.

There are 50 wards in KMC limits. As many as 190 metric tonnes of garbage is produced daily in the city. However, the municipality staff has not taken up cleaning work in all wards and restrict it only to some main centres. With the delay in lifting of silt and garbage dumped on the roads, the effort of Kurnool municipality to desilt drains to ensure free flow of rain and waste water as part of monsoon preparations is all set to go down the drain.

The public raised a hue and cry over spilling of drain water on to the roads. Instead of going ahead systematically, the cleaning work was taken up in a haphazard manner. While the upstream has been cleaned at some places, the lower end continues to be choked.

The drains are being cleaned in bits and pieces which are bound to reflect on the flow of rain and waste water. To add to the woes, delay in lifting of the garbage has led to the waste being littered all over the roads.

Besides, there is possibility of silt and garbage flowing back into the drains with the water. Since the drains are not cleaned entirely, the water flow is likely to spill over to the roads again rendering the efforts of the urban futile.

When contacted, Commissioner of Kurnool Municipal Corporation S. Ravindra Babu said they have taken up special programmes to clean the city. They have also received complaints from people through phone calls, letters and by e-mails and their staff immediately responds to them. They will also step up awareness programmes on hygiene and cleanliness for the people of the city.

“The garbage here is a serious problem for us. Cows, pigs and other birds carry the garbage and deposit it near hospital. As the waste is from the hotels and residences are very high it may cause the spread of diseases,” said K. Yallanagulu, secretary of Kallur Yuvajana Sangam.

"We need to cover our noses inside the B camp government welfare hostel. Due to the stench, the students cannot even eat as it causes nausea," J. Lakshmi Narsimha, SC ST BC Students Federation president, said. The drains and garbage are all over the roads and footpaths giving out a stink which can ruin the health and well being of the students staying in the government hostel," he said.