Hyderabad: Angry over the prolonged dump yard issue, residents of Jawaharnagar and Dammaiguda staged a dharna on Thursday and demanded to shift the dump yard.

Protesters pointed out that three years ago, the state government had promised the locals that the dump yard would be shifted to three different alternative sites – Lakdaram village in Patancheru mandal, Pyaranagar village in Gummadidala mandal and Khanapur village at Talakondapally village in Rangareddy district. But that only seems to be on paper. Protesters also demanded that the state government organise health camps every month, as many health issues have been reported due to the foul smell emanating from it.

Sandeep, one of the protesters said, “For the past several years, we were facing hardships due to the dump yard, but over the past three days, the situation has turned worse. The smell is so tremendous that we are forced to stay indoors. We tried to bring the issue to the concerned officials several times but all our pleas fell on deaf ears. So a protest is organised to highlight our concerns.”

“For many years, we have been fighting to shut the dump yard over here, as we are unable to reside, as the water and air have been polluted,” said Ramesh, another resident.