Citizens residing near Kherwadi Junction in Bandra (East) are not the least bit happy that the civic authorities have chosen their lane to park its dumpsters and garbage compactors, making the locality reek of putrid smells all day long.
Residents are annoyed that they can't take a short walk without a cocktail of smells assaulting their senses.
The site of inconvenience is the Ram Mandir lane, off Kherwadi Junction. Other than residential buildings, it also has a municipal maternity hospital as well as a popular temple.
"Any time of the day, one can find at least three to four compactors lining up both sides of the road, along with smaller tempos. Worst is that all the leachate discharged from the compactors spills onto the road, leaving a permanent stink that forces pedestrians to hold their breath or cover their noses while walking," said Paresh Pimpale, a resident of Mitra Parivar building in the lane.
For its part, the BMC has said it doesn't have anywhere else to park, but that ity would scrutinise the issue.
The nuisance is exacerbated when the footpaths blocked off by these stationary compactors are used by auto and cab drivers to urinate at night, Pimpale said. "BMC advocates Swachh Mumbai. So it should be on the top of their list to ensure they don't end up making a residential area dirty. We will write a letter to the municipal commissioner requesting him to visit our area and see the situation for himself," he said.
The worst affected is Asara building, which is right at the mouth of the lane where the compactors are parked. One of its residents told DNA that members of her society have been keeping the windows shut because of the constant stink. "It gets worse at night. Time and again, we have requested BMC officials and staff from the BMC chowky near the junction to park these vehicles elsewhere. But nothing has happened. We continue to live enveloped in the stink," she said.
Santosh Kadam, another resident from the area, said many residents have begun fearing for their health. The waste attracts flies and mosquitoes, know to transmit many serious infections. "When it rains, we have to wade through filthy water that has all the leachate from compactors and garbage that has fallen off tempos," he said.
When DNA contacted Ashok Khaire, deputy municipal commissioner in charge of the solid waste management department, he said he would ask civic officials to scrutinise the issue: "I will ask the local ward office to look into the complaints of citizens."
A senior BMC official has said on the condition of anonymity that the issue isn't new and that they have not received any complaints from the locals so far.
"This is a long-standing issue. But we have no space to park. And since the lane is near a BMC chowky where the staff from the solid waste department sit, the vehicles are parked over there. If we have a designated space, we can shift the vehicles," the official said.
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