Viman Nagar residents plagued by frequent garbage issues

By: Pune Pulse

October 21, 2023

Pune: Residents of Viman Nagar are troubled with the issue of garbage laying at several spots in Viman Nagar and Old Mundhwa Road.

Speaking to Pune Pulse, Raja Subramani, a resident of Viman Nagar, said, “Various areas in Viman Nagar are used as garbage collection & separation points such as near MHADA colony near Pune Airport, near Kailash Market and more. Generally, what happens is people simply dump the waste & then PMC will segregate dry waste, wet waste, plastic, etc. If there is excess waste, it gets burned. Waste burning has reduced significantly but it still happens sometimes. Mostly, waste dumping is done by several hotel people nearby. Near Hem Gurukul School, a lot of waste has accumulated with no action for a long time. The PMC has cleaned it just a few days back. Some of the businesses will not wait for the garbage to be picked up. They just burn it.”

Arjun Jagtap, President, of Viman Nagar Residents’ Association said, “What happens is the waste gets dumped near Swami Vivekanand Udyan at night time. However, it is cleaned by the PMC so there is no need to worry.”

Qaneez Sukhrani, Pune Citizens’ Activist states, “Many citizens have taken up this issue directly questioning the PMC on its disinterest in dealing with lack of collection & disposal of garbage. Despite Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, PMC is crawling over implementing it because of political interference. Top officers just give assurances in the media, which finally amounts to no action on the ground. This is mainly because PMC does not have a standard policy & strategy across Pune. Every ward does what they want because of why generators of garbage think. We have held numerous meetings with the top officers in PMC’s Solid Waste Management Dept in the past since June 2022 and given them step-by-step methods on how to achieve the garbage-free goal gradually.”

Somnath Bankar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, PMC Nagar Road-Vadgaon Sheri Ward Office said, “Proper cleaning of the entire area of Viman Nagar happens every day. No spot in the area is kept unattended which is laden with waste.”

Shreyas Vange