Walking through puddles of dirty water

An open drain overflowing with wastes spreading diseases and loads of health hazards. This is part of the life near the residential colony of Tajabad. Tones of litter produced every day flow into the drain situated across the residential area.

Its service road has schools, banks, restaurant, auto workshops, real estate and other offices. All this muck has been causing an unbearable stink, fouling the environment.

Ali Reza, a resident of the area says: “It has been flowing before the month of Ramazan. So many times administrative officials have promised so many things, but nothing has been done yet. Even Eidul Fitr passed off sans any action.”

“The drain is right along the road in our locality. People pass through it from morning till evening. The stink is there throughout the day. The overflowing drain poses a danger to school students and their parents, says Muhammad Baqir.

“More dangerously, effluents from the drain overflow into the neighbouring houses at times. The drain always remains choked. This has led to its stagnation and consequent overflow of the effluents on to the service road. Several times the wastes have come up to our doors,” says Abul Fazl Abbas, a school teacher.

“The choked drain is a great health hazard. The situation became even worse during rains. The superintending engineering office of the area says they had done their job of developing the drain for the civic body, but the civic body refused to take over the drain after it was developed saying it has to be further extended. It was because of this conflict that no work has been done on the drain for so many years,” adds Abul Fazl Abbas.

“I don’t know when the civic body will take over the matter and will be making a new drain or extend it. When the whole problem will be sorted out in about a year or two, only they know,” says Musa Kazim.

“It seems so ironic that even after explaining how authorities could avoid the spread of drain overflow, they are still not taking any action. Disappointed by the official apathy, we have now vowed to take to the streets along with other residents if the authorities do not take prompt action. They talk about keeping the city clean but what about this area? We are left with no option but to protest. And we will do it if the need arises," says Muhammad Jawad.

“I see loads of litter placed just outside every house in broken plastic bags, which ultimately cause blockage of drain. It becomes almost impossible for me to step onto the service road when I find the deplorable condition of the street; and it is nothing new for me in this area,” says Ghulam Ali.

Azhar Zaidi says: “Days would pass before anyone from the civic body would come to dispose of the litter, but the attitude of people towards their surroundings is also a real shock to me. Even in the absence of civic body workers, the least people can do is to properly dispose of the waste. No one in the neighbourhood cares for the smell caused by the garbage outside their homes.”

“I fear the approaching Eidul Azha days, when the air of the area will reek with the foul smell of decomposed innards of the sacrificial animals with no initiative from the civic body to clean them amidst the present flowing drain,” says Arif Hussain.