Graveyard turns a dumping yard at Old Bowenpally

The graveyard at Old Bowenpally has turned into a dumping ground. Shop owners and households are disposing waste heedlessly here. Debris combined with toxic wastes is creating a precarious situation for the local residents. Though, a committee formed by the locals have fenced the open ground to check the littering and open defecation, it has not yielded much impact. Watchman of the burial ground also stated that it is a strenuous task to stop people from littering and throwing waste.

“This was an open land used as a garbage yard. Committee took it in custody following a court order and fenced it. But dumping of garbage by shops and some of the residents still continues. Turning the stretch into green belt is only the solution to protect it,” says Azhar, a local. Venkatesh, who runs GHMC canteen in front of the graveyard, commented thus: “Customers expressed their inconvenience about the foul smell and flies coming from the graveyard. Neither GHMC nor the committee cleans the place, thus even regular customers refuse to take lunch here.”

Asked about the issue, local corporator M Narsimha Yadav replied that, “I will take initiative if the committee approaches me. I cannot take decision of my own as it is a religious property. Many development works such as construction of Wuzukhana and a boundary wall have been done by the government previously.” GHMC Assistant Engineer Arvind Kumar told no works can be done on properties owned by someone without having a proposal. “It is only possible on areas under the GHMC. The department will consider any proposal submitted by the committee officially, but we haven't got any in this regard,” he added.'

BY Mohsin Ali