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Home to more than 100 households and an estimated population of around 500 people, Shiv Nagar generates a considerable amount of daily household waste. But according to residents, the locality has been left out of the city’s door-to-door garbage collection network, forcing families to dispose of waste through unsafe and environmentally damaging methods.

Residents said the civic neglect has resulted in clogged drains, foul smell, and poor sanitation conditions in the neighbourhood, while drain cleaning by the municipal authorities is limited only to the bridge area and does not extend to the inner parts of the locality.

The situation has raised fresh concerns over the uneven implementation of waste management services in parts of Guwahati, where residents say even basic sanitation support remains absent.

During an interaction with GPlus, around 10 to 12 residents of Shiv Nagar said that municipal garbage collection vehicles do not enter the area at all, leaving the community without any organised waste disposal mechanism.

A resident said the complete absence of garbage collection services has made daily waste disposal a major problem for every household in the locality.

“There is no door-to-door garbage collection service in our locality. The GMC vehicle does not come here at all, and because of that we are left with no proper system to dispose of our household waste. Every day families generate waste, but when no one comes to collect it, people are forced to find their own way of throwing it away,” the resident said.

Another resident said that despite repeated concerns from the community, no regular municipal service has been introduced in the area.

“We have been living here for years, but proper garbage collection has never been regular in this locality. We have raised the issue many times, but the situation has not changed. Without any support from the authorities, residents are struggling to manage waste on their own,” the resident added.

The lack of waste collection services has reportedly made the neighbourhood increasingly unhygienic.

In the absence of any designated waste disposal system, residents said they have no option but to dump household waste in nearby drains.

According to them, this is not a matter of choice but a forced practice caused by the lack of civic facilities.

A resident said families know that throwing garbage into drains is harmful, but they have been left with no alternative.

“We know that throwing waste in the drains is not right, but what can we do when there is no garbage collection service and no place to dump the waste? Every household generates garbage daily, and without any system in place, people are forced to throw it in the nearby drains,” the resident said.

Residents said this practice has led to blockage of drains and worsening sanitation conditions inside the locality.

“Because garbage is being thrown into the drains continuously, many drains are getting blocked. This creates foul smell, dirty surroundings, and water stagnation. During rains, the situation becomes worse because blocked drains overflow and the waste spreads into the area,” another resident said.

The residents said the growing waste problem is now affecting everyday life in the neighbourhood.

An NGO actively involved in addressing the waste management issue in Shiv Nagar also alleged that the lack of regular municipal waste collection has forced residents into unsafe disposal practices, while repeated concerns raised from the locality have not resulted in any meaningful action on the ground.

A representative of the NGO said the situation in the area reflects a serious gap in basic sanitation services, where residents are being left to manage household waste on their own despite living in a densely populated locality.

“Residents in Shiv Nagar are facing serious difficulties because there is no regular waste collection system in place. In the absence of municipal support, people are being forced to dump their household waste in nearby drains. This is not because they want to do so, but because there is simply no other option available to them,” the representative said.

The NGO alleged that the continuing lack of action has worsened sanitation conditions in the locality and increased the health risks for residents.

“When waste is dumped into the drains every day, it naturally leads to blockage, foul smell, and unhygienic surroundings. Over time, this creates a major health hazard for the entire community. The most concerning part is that residents have been facing this problem for a long time, but there has been no proper intervention to solve it,” the representative added.

The organisation further said that providing basic waste management services in such localities should be treated as a civic priority rather than depending solely on complaints from residents.

“This is a basic civic service that every locality should receive. People should not have to repeatedly complain just to get garbage collected. Regular waste collection and proper waste disposal systems must be ensured as a part of routine municipal responsibility, especially in densely populated residential areas,” the representative said.

However, talking to GPlus, an official from the Guwahati Municipal Corporation said that establishing a waste transfer station near the locality is not a simple process, as it requires proper planning, suitable land, and logistical arrangements. However, the official said that if residents formally report the problem through the corporation’s grievance system, the municipal team can inspect the area and take action accordingly.

“To set up a transfer station near that locality is not easy because such facilities need proper planning, adequate space, and necessary arrangements before they can be established. It cannot be done immediately without assessing the area and the requirements properly,” the official said.

The official added that while a permanent facility may take time, the corporation can send a team to inspect the locality if residents register a formal complaint through the GMC grievance number.