Locals’ Lack Of Support Turns Odisha’s Gopalpur A Garbage Town

Berhampur: The garbage cleaning work at night and the unchanged civic attitude of the local residents have turned Gopalpur into a filthy town.

Executive officer of Gopalpur NAC Uma Shankar Sethi said the night cleaning operation was started on the direction of Ganjam collector to prevent pollution in the day time. Accordingly, the sweepers do the job at night. But the local residents keep dumping the garbage on the road or the drain during day time, thus foiling the very purpose of night cleaning, he added.

“Unfortunately, the tourists who visit the beach resort during the day, carry a negative impression about the town despite our best efforts,” said Sethi.

“Presently we have 48 sweepers including 6 NAC staff who clean the beach town. We need 10 more sweepers as the floating population is increasing and the inflow of domestic tourists improving,” the executive officer said.

There are 1806 households in Gopalpur NAC area and maximum civic amenities are provided to the local people. “We can’t make Gopalpur beautiful and clean without the support of the locals”, Sethi said.