Bhubaneswar: After High-Level Meeting, Govt Says Garbage Dump Impasse Broken

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Housing & Urban Development Minister Usha Devi on Tuesday said a breakthrough has finally been made in the impasse over the Daruthenga garbage dumpyard.

“We heard all the demands of the villagers of Daruthenga, which will be fulfilled soon. However, we have sought nine months’ time to address their complaints,” she told mediapersons.

The minister on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan here to resolve the row, which has dragged for days fuelling anger among Bhubaneswar’s residents as uncleared garbage has piled up in the state capital. The situation arose after Daruthenga villagers stopped Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s garbage trucks from disposing the city’s waste at the dumping yard there.

Tuesday’s meeting was attended by Jatni MLA Sura Routray, BMC Mayor Sulochana Das, the BMC Commissioner and Daruthenga sarpanch Tapan Chakraborty among others.

Addressing mediapersons after the meeting, the BMC Mayor said the meeting was successful and took place in a cordial atmosphere.

Routray said the impasse was broken following the intervention of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The Congress leader said the CM has asked BJD MLA Pranab Prakash Das to resolve the issue on an urgent basis.

“BMC is drafting proposals that will address the demands of Daruthenga. Villagers will then discuss these proposals,” he said.

“It was assured that our demands will be fulfilled. They made it clear that garbage will be cleared through bio-mining process and Bhuasuni will get back its previous shape,” Chakraborty was quoted as saying in news reports.

“We will try to fulfill their demands as soon as possible. Though the BMC has sought nine months, we will try to fulfill their demands before that,” Usha Devi said.

The tussle between the BMC and villagers of Daruthenga over the dumpyard has been going on for more than a year. A fortnight ago, on August 12, a youth was killed after being knocked down by a garbage vehicle on way to the dumpyard. Irate villagers then stopped BMC’s garbage trucks from going to the dumping yard.

As the standoff dragged, BMC trucks were dumping garbage at the Temporary Transit Centre near Sainik School and many parts of Bhubaneswar virtually turned into garbage dumps.