Conservancy lanes turn into dumping yards | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Conservancy lanes, which were restored by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently, continue to fall prey to a range of issues, including irregular vehicle parking, dumping of debris, and encroachment by street vendors.
Several important localities, such as Saheed Nagar, Bapuji Nagar, Unit-III, Unit-IX, and Unit-IV, where such conservancy lanes exist, are facing these issues allegedly due to lack of enforcement activities by the civic body to keep the lanes free of illegal occupants.
“These conservancy lanes had been in bad shape for quite a long time. They have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and a dumping yard for nearby residents. These were rightly restored by BMC, but the result is back to square one now,” said Saheed Nagar resident Ritesh Patra.
Patra, who owns an electronics shop in the locality, said he raised the issue with the BMC and made repeated complaints about the encroachment. “Being a responsible citizen, I voluntarily made the complaint, but no action has been taken yet,” he said.
Bhubaneswar was designed with such conservancy lanes, which can be found in every planned locality of the capital city. These lanes are meant for scavenging purposes, such as waste collection and maintenance, rather than for providing primary access to roads, streets, or buildings.
Due to lack of maintenance in the past, these lanes developed creepers and unwanted plants and also turned into dump sites for nearby residents. BMC took on the task of restoring these lanes and did so with paver block placement under a state scheme during 2022-23.
However, the current status of the lanes represents a lackadaisical attitude of the civic body, which failed to maintain these lanes following their restoration. “I was unaware of such spaces in our locality. Only after the BMC’s intervention did I get to know about it,” said Dipti Jena, a resident of Unit IV.
City mayor Sulochana Das said restoration of conservancy lanes is ongoing work and the enforcement to keep the lanes free of encroachment is also continuing. “We are removing the encroachers and also penalising them if needed,” she said.
Several important localities, such as Saheed Nagar, Bapuji Nagar, Unit-III, Unit-IX, and Unit-IV, where such conservancy lanes exist, are facing these issues allegedly due to lack of enforcement activities by the civic body to keep the lanes free of illegal occupants.
“These conservancy lanes had been in bad shape for quite a long time. They have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and a dumping yard for nearby residents. These were rightly restored by BMC, but the result is back to square one now,” said Saheed Nagar resident Ritesh Patra.
Patra, who owns an electronics shop in the locality, said he raised the issue with the BMC and made repeated complaints about the encroachment. “Being a responsible citizen, I voluntarily made the complaint, but no action has been taken yet,” he said.
Bhubaneswar was designed with such conservancy lanes, which can be found in every planned locality of the capital city. These lanes are meant for scavenging purposes, such as waste collection and maintenance, rather than for providing primary access to roads, streets, or buildings.
Due to lack of maintenance in the past, these lanes developed creepers and unwanted plants and also turned into dump sites for nearby residents. BMC took on the task of restoring these lanes and did so with paver block placement under a state scheme during 2022-23.
However, the current status of the lanes represents a lackadaisical attitude of the civic body, which failed to maintain these lanes following their restoration. “I was unaware of such spaces in our locality. Only after the BMC’s intervention did I get to know about it,” said Dipti Jena, a resident of Unit IV.
City mayor Sulochana Das said restoration of conservancy lanes is ongoing work and the enforcement to keep the lanes free of encroachment is also continuing. “We are removing the encroachers and also penalising them if needed,” she said.
