Civic apathy: Bins damaged, go missing on Church Street

Church Street, redesigned under TenderSure project, is crying for attention. Lack of proper maintenance, vandalism, instances of theft and sewage overflow from a nearby street is threatening to undo the expensive beautification completed two years ago.

A reality check by DH revealed that of 20 odd dustbins installed along the 700 metre stretch of the road, less than half were in a fit condition. While three of the dustbin stands along the street were ripped off both the bins — green for wet waste and blue for dry waste — six of the stands had only one of the two bins remaining. Many bins were either damaged or splattered with the stains of pans.

Preetham, an employee of Bookworm, located on Church Street, blamed both the general public and civic authorities for the condition of the bins and bollards installed on the footpath. “Bins have been vandalised by the public. Generally, vandalism occurs in the later hours of the day when all shops are closed,” he said.

“The bins are also not cleared regularly. There are instances when the overflowing bins are cleared once in every two or three days,” he said.

Deepak Batavia, president of Church Street Occupants Association, said that the main reason for poor bins and solid waste management was that the Palike had not assigned a proper contractor.

On dumping of waste in the bins, he said it was difficult for the vendors to make people drop dry and wet waste in separate bins. “However, we have directed shops and hotels to segregate waste,” he said. A meeting will be convened shortly with BBMP authorities to discuss these issues, he said.

Civic apathy

When contacted, K T Nagaraj, chief engineer (Projects Central), said the dustbins were damaged due to civic apathy. “People are damaging these bins. Moreover, there are also cases of theft. Two Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) covers of underground drainage and optical fibre cable ducts were stolen recently,” he said.

The corporation has replaced the FRP covers. Against whom can we file a complaint about the damaged dustbins? he questioned. He said the BBMP, along with the police, was installing CCTV cameras which would help identify those responsible for vandalism in the future, he added.