Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) initiated a massive cleanup drive in the forest area to remove construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) , as well as waste from marriage gardens, which had been improperly disposed of in forest areas. BMC sprang into action just two days after the Free Press drew attention to the forest land being used as dumping grounds for construction, demolition, and marriage garden waste.
Municipal body teams were immediately deployed to clear the affected areas in the vicinity of Dhamkheda, Chandanpura, and Bairagarh Chichali villages. BMC Deputy commissioner Yogendra Patel, said, the civic body has launched a sanitation drive to clean forest areas and regular monitoring of the area will be done to ensure that it remains garbage-free.
The Free Press in its Friday edition had published that forest areas in the vicinity of Dhamkheda, Chandanpura, and Bairagarh-Chichali villages -falling under ward no 80 and 83 – were gradually turning into garbage dumping sites. The Free press highlighted that dumping of construction and demolition waste(C&D), garbage and food waste from marriage gardens was posing threat to the wildlife and Kaliyasot River.
Fighting for the cause, an environmentalist had even warned the BMC to approach the National Green Tribunal if it failed to check dumping of waste in the forest area. The green activist had said that during the monsoon season dumped garbage in the forest areas would flow into Kaliyasot River polluting its water and endangering the aquatic life.
“ We have begun the sanitation drive Marriage gardens used to dump waste generated from their venues and even the contractors were unloading their C&D waste on the forest land. The sanitation derive will continue and we will regularly monitor the area in future too and ensure that there is no dumping of waste in the forest areas adjoining the villages,” Yogendra Patel, deputy commissioner BMC
“The civic body launched the cleaning drive on Sunday to clear the forest areas of the C&D waste and marriage garden waste The BMC administration has taken the action on the news prominently published in Free Press,” Rashid Noor Khan Green Activist.