Overflowing gutter irks residents in Neredmet

Neredmet: Despite the efforts of the GHMC officials to control the residents from littering garbage in the open gutters, such as through installation of wire barricades, the locals continue to throw waste and garbage in their backyard. Even short spells of rain can cause the gutters clog and drainages overflow causing problems to the residents living on the opposite end of the gutter.

One of the residents of the division, NRL Sarma, a retired loco pilot at South Central Railways (SCR), said, “We have been facing this issue from the start. People don’t cease to litter garbage in the gutter. We are forced to approach the GHMC officials every year to urge them to conduct cleaning tasks at the gutter. Even after repeated pleas through letters and pictures of evidences to the local MLA, he failed to resolve the issue.”

Rama Devi, one of the residents, said, “Even educated citizens tend to spill the garbage. Among all, we have borne the brunt of the issue, as we live right opposite to the gutter. In fact, during previous rains dirty water flowed into our sump. The stink was unbearable. We found that the stench was coming from animal carcasses dumped in the gutter. It led us to get away from this place.”

K Srinivas, another resident from the same colony said, “GHMC officials ought to penalise those who litter garbage in open gutters and any other open places. Locals don’t really seem to change, despite being educated.” The issue is not just confined to littering in gutters; we tend to litter unwanted stuff in any open place that we deem to see fit.

This not only attracts stray cattle feeding on the garbage, but it also gives rise to unwanted stench, breeding ground for mosquitoes and other bacteria. We often complain about development, but ironically, we don’t take any part in social responsibility when it comes to taking our nation a step forward in terms of development.