Gram panchayat dumping garbage near school, hospital on main road

MADIKERI: The Shanivarasante Gram Panchayat in Somwarpet taluk, which has announced a Rs 20,000 penalty for dumping waste on the roadsides, is itself dumping waste near a school and hospital on the highway.

The panchayat has declared that those who dump garbage on the roadsides will be fined Rs 20,000. The officials have also installed CCTV cameras to identify those who dump garbage. But the gram panchayat itself is dumping garbage collected from houses on the road leading to the village.

Loads of garbage piled up on the roadside in Shanivarasante.

People who pass by, hospital staff and students wear masks to avoid the stench. Even cows and buffaloes graze on the garbage piles. Locals said that they have complained about the isue to the gram panchayat president and PDO many times, but to no avail. They have also complained about the garbage dump to the tahsildar and MLA.

A resident of Shanivarasante speaking to the media about the garbage issue.

“For the last 20 years we are facing this garabage issue. We have informed all the officials, but no one has responded to our pleas. People are facing problems due to the stench from the garbage piles”, said a local resident of Shanivarasanthe.