Loading Garbage Trucks on City Roads is Unhygienic, Stinky & Creates an Eyesore!
Mangaluru: Trash is India’s, and for that even Mangaluru’s, plague. It chokes rivers, scars meadows, contaminates streets and feeds a vast and dangerous ecosystem of rats, mosquitoes, stray dogs and cows, and pigs. Perhaps even more than the fitful electricity and insane traffic, the ubiquitous garbage shows the incompetence of Indian governing and the dark side of the country’s rapid economic growth. Greater wealth has spawned more garbage, and the managers of the country’s pell-mell development have been unable to handle the load.
Apart from that, the trucks that haul the tonnes of garbage daily in Mangaluru City are creating a very unhygienic, stinky and safety hazard issue, which is an eyesore for this “Smart City”?. Garbage trucks that make you gag every time they whiz pass by you producing some stinky smell, but unfortunately nothing much could be done, since they have to rush the load to the dumping yard as quickly as possible. But what really bothers is that, when these larger garbage trucks park on the roads to get loaded with garbage from the smaller trucks, is something that needs to be addressed.
First of all there is lots of carbon monoxide that is emitted by these garbage trucks when they are on the move, but imagine when these trucks are parked for a long time on a busy road next to a mall, a religious institution, school, etc in order to get loaded, it creates a lot of health hazards when the people nearby have to inhale the toxic. Plus when these trucks are parked on the main roads during the loading time, the dirty water ( leachate) that leeches out of the compressed garbage trucks on to the road, leaving back dirty black patches (see pictures)- and you can see such black dirt laden roads at various locations where these trucks got loaded.
But why these garbage trucks have to be loaded right on the main roads? Why can’t they use some of the side mud portion of the thereby avoid dirtying the roads with garbage stains? Why can’t they use inner roads if they are available for loading? These are some of the questions needed to be put forth to the officials of Mangaluru City Corporation and to the higher officials of Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited. Loading garbage trucks on the main roads when motorists and pedestrians are moving around is totally a safety hazard. Such kind of loading should be done off the main roads, without creating any inconveniences to the public.
Look at the above photos where the city roads are laden with black garbage dirt
Apart from the time taken to load the bigger trucks with garbage from the smaller trucks, the pourakarmikas take their extra time digging into the garbage to find plastic bottles and other recycling items so that they could be sold to the scarp dealer. In the meantime, the nearby residents, and other citizens have to bear with the stench till the loading is done. Not a Smart Idea when our City is rated as a “Smart City”! Besides, when the vehicles are open during loading, the heaps of garbage are an eyesore and create a stink. I only wish the concerned officials of MCC and Antony Waste Handling Cell come up with an idea, to load these trucks anywhere else, other than the main roads. Thank You!
Most of the Public Services and Utilities in India are not regulated and the public are not informed or educated on civic subjects, nor are the favoured Contractors specific educated or experienced or equipped.
Garbage and Sewerage disposal is a serious civic concern of any country. Modern technology and modern living has quadrupled the garbage- wet or dry – due to prepared and packaged food and food packaging disposables. However, disposal management still lacks technology and infrastructure in India. Just purchasing a few garbage trucks and employing a few labourers does not call for a complete safe and hygienic garbage collection and disposal system.
The State Government of Karnataka must look after it’s own state and it’s population and it’s infrastructure and amenities to a very high standard instead of bickering of who will govern and control and loot the public and the state, and which political party is better than the other.
Examples and Education are of primary importance. Whilst the Indian government is spending millions of billions of Rupees taken from Indians in all forms of taxes to purchase the latest and costly hi-tech arms and armaments, that is not put to use in any form – peace or war, so should the people in authority in Karnataka State = source that technology and that equipment from those countries to manage better Garbage Collection and Disposal.
The Municipality is quick levying a charge for Garbage disposal and collection but are not providing thickness approved plastic bags for garbage disposal to every household, and most household simply empty their wt garbage in a small plastic bin, that in turn is emptied in a big bin in a building and that in turn in dumped in a small open truck by the Garbage Contractor employees. This leads to stray cats, dogs, and rodents to these garbage bins and the foul smell and the disease it can spread.
ALL PEOPLE AND ONLY PEOPLE MUST BE THE CHANGE AND AS WELL EDUCATE EACH OTHER, AND THE MUNICIPALITY EMPLOYEES MUST STAY FOCUSSED ON THIS SUBJECT AND SUPERVISE PROPER MANAGEMENT
The author sees only the unhygienic way of loading of garbage bins. But misses seeing that the laborers who are working there are not wearing any safety equipment. They do not have shoes, Gloves. proper headgear, face masks or inhalers and they stay in the accommodation provided by the waste handlers which does not have hygienic facilities. Apart from this the people also do not know how to dumps garbage. Some people just throw the garbage on the roadside without proper packing or dump into bins.The laborers have to physically lift this material which may be 3- 4 days old and put inside the trucks.
Let us first make sensitive the people who are working there and people who are throwing the garbage to do it properly with tools and tackles and also proper packing. The spillage on the road is an issue which can be cleaned. But then if the person gets infected or gets a disease it takes a longer time to cure and also expensive
This is in response to the comment posted by Francis Lobo who states that the author had missed to highlight that the laborers are not wearing any protective gear, like gloves, shoes etc. To clarify on this statement – Antony waste Handling cell does provide shoes, gloves etc, but it is the laborers who are reluctant to wear them- since they complain that wearing shoes get their feet warm and sweaty, gloves are hassles to remove now and then etc etc
So whose fault is it? Laborers need to adhere to the safety rules but they are totally violating it.