HYDERABAD: Dumping yards continue to pose a major civic challenge across the erstwhile districts of Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Warangal, Khammam and Mahabubnagar, with residents demanding their relocation as surrounding habitations expand.
Locals have been urging authorities for years to shift existing dumping yards away from residential areas, citing respiratory problems caused by toxic gases released from decomposing waste and smoke from frequent garbage fires. Despite biomining being initiated at some locations, residents allege that the process has made little headway, forcing people to live amid garbage for decades.
Municipal officials estimate that a dumping yard requires a minimum of 10 to 30 acres for scientific waste management. However, availability and allocation of such large land parcels has become increasingly difficult, particularly within the limits of newly formed municipalities. At the same time, existing dumping yards have shrunk due to encroachments, resulting in towering garbage heaps and difficulties in transporting collected waste.
In the Nalgonda Municipal Corporation limits, around 110 tonnes of waste generated daily is being transported to a dumping yard located along the Nalgonda-Nakrekal National Highway. Waste accumulated over more than a decade frequently catches fire, with thick smoke enveloping the highway and causing traffic hazards. Residents of nearby Chandanapally and Kesarajupally villages say they face severe hardship due to recurring smoke and foul odour.
Although a biomining plant has been established at the site recently, operations have not yet commenced, leaving the situation unchanged.
In Kodad municipality, about 24 tonnes of garbage is collected every day. Residents complain that waste is frequently set on fire at the dumping yard, forcing nearby communities to endure smoke and pollution on a daily basis. They have been demanding relocation of the dumping yard for the past five years.
Officials acknowledge that the problem is not unique to these towns. Across 16 municipalities in the erstwhile Nalgonda district alone, dumping yard management remains a persistent issue, with no significant variation in conditions.
Urban expansion, upgradation of major panchayats into municipalities and rising population have led to the generation of tonnes of waste every day, turning waste collection, transportation and processing into a major challenge for municipal bodies.
Public health concerns have intensified as smoke and toxic gases from burning waste continue to affect residents. While protests are ongoing in several towns demanding relocation of dumping yards, lack of land has stalled the establishment of new facilities. Though biomining converting waste into usable resources was discussed as an alternative, it has largely remained confined to planning stages.
Residents hope future elected bodies will accord priority to resolving the issue. They have suggested focusing on electricity generation from plastic waste and producing fertilisers and other by products from organic waste to ensure long-term, sustainable solutions.