Bhopal has reportedly slipped out of the list of clean cities in the country with the long-standing problem of waste in Adampur Khanti dumping ground becoming a major reason of concern.
Previously it was one of the best cities in the dirty city list, but it has dropped off the list these days. Around 5 lakh tonnes of waste has accumulated at Adampur Khanti site and there is another pending matter in Supreme Court regarding waste disposal, reports said.
The development has resulted in a lot of criticism from the Bhopal Municipal Corporation and the Mayor of Bhopal Mr. Malti Rai. The mayor “deemed” the city to have been taken off the list because of new rules and categories of cleanliness ratings, in response to questions about why the city was excluded. This is because the earlier Swachhata League categories have been scrapped and the current competition is focussed on the Swachhata Jodi and the clean city categories which are the top clean city performers, she added.
This waste would be disposed at the site of Adampur Khanti, Rai also added while inviting a tender for disposal of the collected garbage, adding optimism that the waste would be removed by January.
But it has left residents in the area of the dumping spot extremely angry. Years of waste dumping, according to them, has led to water pollution of surface bodies and critical environmental issues for lives, and is making daily life difficult.
The matter has gone political too, with the plan to demonstrate against the municipal corporation headquarters in the city, while its membership plans to organise demonstration drives around the city in phases.
Adampur Khanti is currently a big debate in Bhopal city in order to keep the city clean, questions are now being asked regarding waste management.