Over 200 residents of Maytas Hill County, Nizampet and surrounding areas staged a protest on Sunday at a vacant land near Bachupally, with the intention of preventing the place from turning into a garbage zone.
The protesters complained that the Panchayat Raj officials had selected the place for a dump yard, knowing that it is located near a residential area.
The village upa sarpanch and ward members also took part in the protest with the residents.
“We are unable to even open our doors or windows,” Arun Roy, a resident of Maytas Hill County told The New Indian Express.
Many also complained that in the 30-acre vacant land near Bachupally, people not only dump but also burn the garbage, posing a health risk to the residents while adding to air pollution.
“The burning of garbage is leading to the release of carcinogens into air, which is dangerous. The illegal dumping is resulting in contamination of the groundwater and also the 60-acre Nalla Cheruvu or Nizampet talab,” P Nand Kishore, an environmental engineer and a resident of Hill County in Bachupally told The Hindu.
The residents of the area had earlier submitted representations to the Telangana State Pollution Control Board, the GHMC and the Municipal administration department.
However, nothing much seems to have been done to resolve the problem.
Meanwhile, the protesters have been asking administration to come up with a long-term solution.
They also demanded that the dumpsite to be shifted immediately before groundwater gets contaminated.
Last year in December, Kukatpally fire station had received over five complaints about open burning of garbage every day.
"Nearly 50% of the garbage in the city is burnt in the open. Earlier, there was the Selco power plant at Gandhamguda that converted waste into burnable pellets to be used as fuel, but this process no longer exists," S Jeevanand Reddy, convener of Forum for Sustainable Environment told Times of India.