Garbage keeps Arvind Nagar Colony residents out of footpaths

Shaikpet: The residents of Arvind Nagar Colony in Shaikpet division are facing several hardships due to stench from the garbage dumped on colony streets and open spaces besides the illegal dumping of construction waste on colony footpaths. They said they were finding it difficult to go for a morning walk as most of the footpaths in the colony were either covered with garbage or the trees that were cut down and their branches thrown everywhere.

This issue is continuously being ignored by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) though several representations were given to it demanding to clear the footpaths of garbage and maintain them, said the residents of the colony. One of the oldest colonies in Shaikpet, Arvind Nagar Colony has a large number of trees. But with increasing prices of land and close proximity to the IT Corridor, many house owners were giving their houses to developers for constructing residential apartments. The builders were cutting down the trees mercilessly without obtaining any permission from the authorities and dumping the wastage on footpaths and open spaces in the colony, they added. Streets and open plots in the colony have become dump yards, said a resident, adding that the GHMC had shown least interest to address the issue.

According to a resident, Shaik Ahmed, the garbage is dumped everywhere in the colony and there were no garbage bins ever installed by the civic body. "Due to the waste dumped on streets, the environs reek of stench. Further, these dumps have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Whenever we complain about mosquito menace, the civic body carries out fogging, but never clears the garbage," said Ahmed. Arvind Nagar Colony president Mohammed said that the GHMC should set up banners indicating that huge fines would be slapped on those throwing garbage in open spaces and also lift the garbage which already lies at several places in the colony.