Mayor Firhad Hakim today said Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will be sending a notice to the Railways, pointing out the failure on the part of the latter in keeping their premises clean and allowing garbage to pile up. The mayor placed an interim vote-on-account budget yesterday at the KMC for the first six months of the financial year 2020-21, April to September, where the civic body will be spending an amount of Rs 301.49 crores approximately on solid waste management.

The mayor went on an inspection drive in the city this morning, when he was met with the sight of garbage piling up in several areas in South Kolkata, including on Railway lands. The mayor was accompanied by Mr.Debabrata Mazumder, the member mayor-in-council (MMIC) of solid waste management (SWM) department, and other officials.

Commenting on his observations, Mr Hakim said: “The Railways has been negligent about cleaning their premises in the city. I visited Tollygunge Tram depot area where I came across a pile of garbage on Railway land. There were coconut shells scattered where mosquito larvae have begun accumulating inside. KMC alone cannot combat dengue. The central agencies will have to step forward and extend their cooperation. I have instructed that a notice be sent to the Railways, asking them to clean up their premises. The same sight can be seen at several Railway premises such as in Majherhat.”

The mayor further came across scattered garbage in Mudiali, while a broken-down bus that was parked on the road, near Tollygunge Police station, was ordered to be taken away to the scrapyard. He said, “I was extremely disappointed to see garbage piling up in certain areas in the city. KMC conservancy workers are also to be blamed for this, to an extent, for failing to carry out their duties. I have conveyed the matter to the director general (DG) of the KMC’s conservancy department.”

It may be noted that in the vote-on-account budget for the first six months of financial year 2020-21, the civic body has allocated Rs 78.46 crores, approximately, for health services. The KMC has already begun its drive against vectorborne diseases and has been conducting awareness campaigns where keeping ones surrounding free of garbage, is one of the major objectives.