Mangaluru: Angry over irregular garbage collection, villagers during a grama sabha meeting in Konaje questioned panchayat officials after officials allegedly told them to store wet waste in refrigerators when they complained about the service.Questioning how ordinary households, many of them unable to afford a refrigerator, could follow such advice, residents demanded that the gram panchayat buy fridges for them.They also questioned why they should pay the full service fee when the collection vehicle rarely visits their area.Former panchayat president Geeta said the problem had persisted for around four months. She said garbage collection was regular during her tenure, with the vehicle visiting an area about three times a week. However, the system had deteriorated after the panchayat’s term ended and responsibility for waste management was handed over to the Sanjeevini federation around two months ago.Geeta said the panchayat had established a waste processing unit in Feb before her tenure ended, but alleged that the present arrangement was not functioning effectively. She also said former panchayat members were not being consulted despite their willingness to help resolve the issue.Geeta said responsibility for waste management was handed over to the Sanjeevini federation only around one or two months ago, but the arrangements had not been satisfactory.Local resident Arun said Konaje GP covered a large area and needed at least two to three garbage collection vehicles for proper waste disposal.Arun added that when collection was delayed, accumulated waste was left exposed, with stray dogs scattering it in the surrounding areas.An official from the panchayat said the existing waste collection vehicle had been sent for servicing and was expected to resume collection next week. She confirmed that the panchayat had only one vehicle and said finding drivers from the locality had also been difficult.During the meeting, officials said the existing vehicle was old and a new one was expected within three months. The official also said that complaints of public abuse of collection staff and instances of residents handing over wet and dry waste without segregating them were also issues.
