Hyderabad: As a last-ditch effort against a terrible stench from the Jawahar Nagar dump, long-suffering residents of areas like Sainikpuri and Nered-met are planning to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) or Ramky Enviro. Residents plan to involve the judiciary as normal complaints have come to naught.
“From the dumpyard, a bad smell comes every day,” said M. Raju of Sainikpuri. The PIL was his idea. “The smell is so bad that people in homes aren’t able to eat meals. The stench wafts all the way from Tirumalgherry.”
He added that there are methods adopted by other municipalities that help in warding off the stench. “The GHMC and the state government are not using scientific temperament to deal with waste and its smell,” he said.
Other residents like K Vijay Sen said the government had a step-motherly attitude towards residents of the city’s eastern corridor.
“The city’s eastern part does not have good roads, proper electricity supply or infrastructure. They are usually kept safe for the central, western and southern parts of the city. That’s why new projects are launched in those areas,” he said.
It smells like rotting carcasses
This stench and attitude, they say, continues to persevere despite principal secretary Arvind Kumar directing the concessionaire of Jawaharnagar dumpyard to take measures to reduce the stench emanating from the dump and creating an inconvenience to the neighbourhood.
The air smells like a combination of rotting carcasses, burning rubber and ammonia and stays for hours. Depending on the wind, it drifts in different directions.
This stench has been persistent for the last four years.
It has forced residents to drape themselves in scarves, not because of the cold but to keep away the stench.
Residents are convinced that the stench has only two possible sources of origin — the drying Kapra lake or the massive dump yard at Jawaharnagar, which hosts the city’s refuse. Officials suggested that the smell could be the rotting lakebed of the Kapra lake which has been de-watered for Mission Kakatiya.
