Yahya Hallare
Daijiworld Media Network - Bhatkal (SP)
Bhatkal, Jan 17: This town is growing by leaps by bounds with the addition of new commercial buildings and houses. Business turnover has been witnessing manifold increase, and highway widening work has actually shrunk the space available in this town. One of the leading problems any town that is growing fast faces happens to be garbage disposal, and Bhatkal is not an exception. This problem has been bothering the citizens here as no solution is in sight.
Garbage, waste and other materials have formed huge heaps on roads in areas like Shifa Cross, Karagadde on the edge of national highway, Azad Nagar, and Madina Colony within the municipal limits here. Even though one comes across improvement in the situation once in a while at Hebale gram panchayat limits, the problem of waste disposal continues to haunt that area even now.
The garbage dump by the side of fish market near the old bus stand here is mired in problems. People visiting the area to buy vegetables find it hard to walk in the area, and the shopkeepers functioning nearby too are facing problems. Street dogs which attack this dump have turned the dump into their habitats. The pack of street dogs, which start running crazy all of a sudden at the drop of a hat, have often caused road accidents on the highway.
The issue of waste disposal has been cropping up at every conceivable meeting held in the taluk, but the municipality here has failed to draw up an efficient plan for handling this chronic problem. Although the municipality claims to have arranged to collect waste from every house on a daily basis, people claim that this has not been done regularly. There have been complaints that the residents of the people are in the habit of throwing garbage haphazardly instead of depositing it in the garbage units. There have been occasions in which people visiting the town once in a way from Gulf countries had themselves undertaken garbage clearance drive by wearing gloves. But no one seems to have taken a cue from this initiative.
The decomposed and stinking garbage in the town has been spreading fear of epidemics setting foot in the area. Although a solid waste collection centre is located on Sagar Road in the taluk, there are complaints about the disposal there. The underground system that has become erratic has compounded the problem further. Effluents have seeped into wells located in and around Gousia Street here. The situation turns pathetic during rainy season. People have been urging the administration to shift the waste conversion unit set up at a cost of lacs of rupees away from its current spot.
A large number of tourists visiting Murudeshwar in the recent past have also made it a habit to visit Bhatkal. A variety of markets in the town are turning into centres of attraction for them. Businessmen have been investing lot of money for developing their hometown but garbage is hampering the beauty of the town. Modern technology about garbage collection and disposal is available in the state, and the officials here are expected to make efforts and see that these facilities are provided to the people here too. Will power of people's representatives here also plays a predominant role in making this happen, many from the town opine.