Mumbai: Chandivli residents give BMC a dose of Gandhigiri

Garbage dumped in front of Meenatai Thackeray ground

Fed-up with inaction of the BMC to clear the garbage in front of a public garden in Chandivli, residents have decided to take up the issue in their own hands. The residents have decided to clean the spot on Sunday, even as the BMC has organised the Swachta hee Seva campaign at 178 locations across the city.

mid-day had raised the issue of garbage piling up on city roads through a series of reports in August. After CM Eknath Shinde took up the issue, the BMC launched a cleanliness campaign. However, Chandivli residents don't seem to have benefitted from this campaign. They have been repeatedly raising the issue of garbage being dumped in front of Meenatai Thackeray ground, but despite repeated assurances from the BMC, which also has a dispensary there, no work has been done.

"The BMC is inefficient in keeping the entrance of their own premises clean. How can there be garbage in front of a BMC dispensary where people come for treatment? The road is choked up due to garbage and children cannot enter the ground," said Anil Sonkar, a resident of Chandivli. Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder, Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA) said that after their complaints, the BMC workers sweep the spot, "but garbage starts piling up within minutes". "We need a permanent solution," he said.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Union Government has organised Swachhata Hi Seva at the national level on Sunday, at 10 am. As part of the initiative, the BMC has organised cleanliness activities at 178 places across the city. "As the BMC does not have the time to work out a plan to clear our spot, we will clean the spot on our own," said Makkar.

178
No of spots the BMC has organised cleanup drives