At an illegal garbage dumping site on the Chandigarh-Nayagaon road. Kamleshwar SinghAs the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is busy clearing its infamous Daddumajra garbage dump, a new garbage dumping site is emerging about 2.5 km away from it. The 3.5-km stretch between Chandigarh and Nayagaon (from PGIMER-Khuda Lahora bridge up to Nadda bridge) is emerging as the new dumping ground.The site, which is barely 700 metres away from Chandigarh’s Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research’s (PGIMER) main entrance, has turned hazardous due to heaps of garbage being dumped on the road near Patiala Ki Rao and non-functional street lights.Residents claim that waste is being dumped openly along roadsides and near the Patiala Ki Rao riverbed, attracting stray cattle and creating unbearable stench. Despite repeated complaints to the authorities concerned, no visible action has been taken by the Nayagaon Nagar Panchayat or Mohali and neither by the Chandigarh’s authorities.At night, the road becomes a death trap. Total darkness due to non-working streetlights, combined with stray cattle and roadside trash, has caused multiple accidents in recent weeks. Local residents allege this is due to sheer negligence by both Punjab and Chandigarh civic authorities, especially since the area falls near a jurisdictional border.The Punjab BJP leader and chairman of Ghar Bachao Manch Nayagaon, Vineet Joshi, who did a Facebook Live from the spot on Friday, said, “It is due to sheer mismanagement of the seasonal stream Patiala Ki Rao by the Punjab government that it has been reduced to a garbage dumping site for the waste that is generated out of Nayagaon, Chandigarh and New Chandigarh.”Surinder Singh, a resident of Vikas Nagar, Nayagaon, told The Indian Express, “Hundreds of people use this road to come to Vikas Nagar, Dashmesh Nagar and other areas in Nayagaon. It is an everyday sight when we spot either an injured cattle or a human lying on the roadside due to heaps of garbage and no streetlights. During the monsoon season, the stench emanating out of the garbage is unbearable.”Satyawan, a resident of Kumaon colony, Nayagaon, said, “Mosquitoes, flies, snakes have made our life a living hell here despite the area being right next to the City Beautiful of Chandigarh. The major issue is that the area is located near Union Territory of Chandigarh and Mohali district of Punjab that neither of the civic bodies takes stock of the situation here.”Story continues below this adJoshi told The Indian Express, “The site is located within the jurisdiction of Nayagaon municipality area under Kharar Vidhan Sabha. It is not known if it’s the municipality or people are using this site to dump tons of waste. The area nearby is also being illegally occupied by land sharks. Last year, a village sarpanch also died here. There are no facilities for storm water drainage too. During rain, this entire road is nothing but slush filled with garbage. I shall raise this issue with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann too, because this site is barely 10 minutes away from the chief minister’s residence. Area MLA and AAP leader Anmol Gagan Mann, who recently resigned and later withdrew it within 24 hours, has also not paid any attention to the plight of over two lakh people who live here in this area.”“The state government is collecting huge amounts in the name of cow cess. Where does this money go? Why are dozens of stray cattle left to die here? Is Patiala Ki Rao being renamed as a garbage dumping site?” Joshi asked.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:chandigarh