Bhubaneswar, Nov. 4: The citizens of Bhubaneswar, especially those who live in the nearby areas of various Temporary Transit Centre (TTS), are reportedly choking their way to disease as the air has turned so toxic because of the increasing waste piles. The inordinate delay in setting up solid waste management units is adding to the woes of these people.

Once considered a clean city with unpolluted air and water bodies, the city in fact seems to have turned into an untidy landmass. The mess, fully manmade, shows no sign of decline abatement.

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is literally struggling to clear waste at dumping grounds. The waste piling situation at the Sainik School TTS, sources said, has turned acute after BMC stopped transporting waste from the site to the Bhuasuni dumping yard in Daruthenga.  As a result, this TTS used as a mini dumping yard, has turned into a garbage hill.

The matter of garbage piling has already been taken to the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and other key forums. Despite an order from the High Court of Orissa in 2012 to remove all temporary transit stations in the city, the civic body has not done it.

The winter has already set in. The dumping grounds invite noxious levels of poisonousness during this period.
BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange has said it would take another two-three months to put in place the waste treatment facilities.  In between, the BMC must sincerely follow the protocols to stop the air from getting too pernicious to even breathe. Concrete steps, not risible measures, must be taken to address what is a catastrophic atmosphere for the residents living around the dumping yards.

Cities that tackled unhealthy pollution levels can be quoted as examples of what concerted action can help achieve.

Caught as Odisha is in a bind of being unable to take decisions like stopping use of polythene backs by incentivising viable alternatives, insisting on the smallest of vehicles to perform to far higher emission standards and containing the construction dust in a state that is eternally a work in progress, the worry of good air continues to remain.

The ordinary citizens and vulnerable groups of people who face breathing issues, respiratory distress, asthma attacks and pulmonary problems and skin infections are left to their own devices.

Odisha must not turn like some most polluted cities of India. We have already seen international cricketers participating in the World Cup, who play in a wealthier ecosystem, use inhalers to cope with the pollution levels of many Indian cities. This is illustrative of where many of our metros are heading — towards the Delhi model of unstoppable pollution leading to severe air warnings.

As experts put it, air pollution has been known to shorten life spans while severely affecting lifestyles. Decades ago, they used to caution visiting sports teams to not drink the water. Perhaps, a cautionary "don’t breathe the air" may have to be added now. The Odisha government must wake up to the worsening plight of people and make all-inclusive plans to make the air breathable in its Bhubaneswar and areas under other urban local bodies.

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