For the people living in Netaji Nagar and Pragati Nagar, the foul smell emanating from the nearby solid waste management plant is not just nauseating, but has also made their life difficult.
Solid waste from the city is collected daily and taken to the plant located at Karvalu in Alevoor village on the outskirts of Udupi.
This plant was set up by the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) at a cost of Rs. 4.82 crore in 2009. Nearly 52 tonnes of waste was generated in the city daily.
While Pragati Nagar comes under Alevoor Gram Panchayat, Netaji Nagar came under Yembattu Badagabettu Gram Panchayat. The people in both these areas complain of stench during night and an increase in mosquitoes and flies.
Nagaraj, a Hindi teacher at Beary’s High School, Kundapur, who lives in Pragati Nagar, said that during daytime, the stench came only when the wind blew in the direction of the area. But the stench was more during night time. “There are a lot of mosquitoes during the nights. This was not the case before the plant was set up here,” he said.
Sharada Rama, a cobbler and resident of Netaji Nagar, said “the CMC made tall claims that it would produce manure from the waste. But nothing has happened so far.” Sundar Devadiga, a shopkeeper at Pragati Nagar, said that sometimes the garbage fell on to the road from the trucks. The CMC should take precaution to see that garbage did not fall from the trucks, he said.
Amrita Krishnamurthy, vice-president of CMC, said that the CMC had not received any complaints about the stench and other problems regarding the plant so far.
“I will visit the plant on Wednesday and look into the matter,” she said.
Published - December 25, 2013 11:43 am IST
