The GHMC has turned the arterial Necklace Road into a dump yard. Silt collected from drains in the city is now being dumped on the Necklace Road in front of the Sanjeevaiah Park. Over 400 tonnes of foul smelling silt now greets morning walkers and evening strollers. Sanjeevaiah Park is also famous for yoga classes conducted every morning, and the silt is defiling the serene atmosphere.
“The stretch of the road from the main gate of the Sanjeevaiah Park to the railway bridge on Ministers Road has been blocked and vehicular traffic has been diverted. Instead of keeping the city clean, the GHMC is doing exactly the opposite,” said Abhishek Kumar, a regular visitor to the Necklace Road.
Sundar Lal Gupta, the in-charge of Bharatiya Yog Sanstha, said, “When I reached the park in the morning, I was shocked by the smell and the sight of so much silt dumped right in the middle of the road. I contacted the HMDA and Buddha Purnima project authorities and I was told that this was being done by the GHMC. I lodged a complaint, but nothing has been done,” he said.
A visit to the site revealed that the contractors, who have taken up pre-monsoon desilting of nalas, were dumping the silt. About 100 truck-loads of silt was dumped on Wednesday. It started with a contractor dumping the silt on the road because there was no place left for disposal on the side of the road. A contractor blamed the GHMC. “The GHMC wanted the silt to be dumped in the open site to the left of the Necklace Road. But it is full now. Where do we dump the fresh silt?” he asked.
GHMC chief engineer K. Suresh admitted that they had identified the open space on the side of Necklace Road. “Dumping of silt on the road cannot be allowed. The contractors are trying to defame the GHMC,” he said.