A ‘zero tolerance zone’ is supposed to be free of garbage. But pictures sent by citizens at Chembur’s Pestom Sagar suggest otherwise.
A ‘zero tolerance zone’ is supposed to be free of strewn garbage. But snaps clicked by citizens at Chembur’s Pestom Sagar suggest otherwise.
From a sanitised zone to dump
About 100mts from Shoppers Stop on Ghatkopar-Mahul road, plastic and garbage is burnt every night. To add to the nuisance, stray cattle graze on vegetable scraps near the merry bonfire. Each night, some miscreants throw a tyre on the garbage dump and set it on fire. Despite having caught one such miscreant and scolding him, he continued to burn the tyre. The picture (carried alongside) was clicked on Friday, November 3 and not during Diwali as authorities claim.
The pollution caused from burning plastic, rubber and garbage causes respiratory tract illness like bronchitis and asthma among others.
As a part of an NGO, LACG and the Pestom Sagar Citizens' Forum that helps the BMC keep the area clean, we took this matter up with the concerned officials in our fortnightly meetings. But they have failed to act upon our complaint. Due to mismanagement between the garbage collection and the garbage transportation agencies, this VIP and No Tolerance Zone of BMC has turned into a garbage dump. The area falls under the M-West Ward which is spending on three agencies — their employees, the Dattak Vasti Yojana and the Hyderabad pattern — to take care of solid waste management. Despite having lodged the complaint on 1916 (the BMC Control Room number), the officials are yet to do anything about this. We also talked to one SL Joshi, who is the Environment Officer for our ward. But it seems as though all our pleas are falling on deaf ears.
Do we have to put up with this? If this is the apathy with which the officials treat a VIP road, we can only imagine the condition of other roads that suffer from similar garbage mismanagement. — Dr Vijay Sangole, Sheetal Sangole and Chandra Sangole. Chembur
A stray cracker that set off the fire
When I met the complainants yesterday, they told me about this incident that took place during Diwali. It must've been a stray cracker that set off the fire.
They didn't tell me if such an incident took place after Diwali. As for the cattle, they usually flock towards these dumps in search of fodder. We do keep a watch and drive them away whenever we spot them.” —SL Joshi. Environment Officer, M-West Road
Install spittoons and toilets all across city
Will the BMC provide public toilets and spittoons all across the city so that people can cultivate the habit of using spittoons? Most streets don’t even have dustbins.
There is a fine of Rs1,000 for not delivering demolition debris in a segregated manner. Who will penalise BMC for leaving the debris on several streets during road-widening ?
I hope these measures will not lead to corruption which will not only stuff the pockets of the officials but will also deprive BMC of revenue. Citizens will have no hesitation cooperating with the BMC if basic amenities like dustbins are in place. We all want a cleaner Mumbai. —S Krishna Kumar. Dombivali
All about zero tolerance zones:
- Garbage-free
- Litter-free
- Dustbin-free
- Debris-free
- Free of hawkers
- Manned 24 hours
- Under observation
- Trenching is not allowed unless there is an emergency
- The pavements must have interlocking tiles
- The dividers and zebra crossings on these roads have to be painted
There are approximately 100 ‘zero tolerance zones’ in Mumbai.
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