The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Construction debris dumped on city roads

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Monday, Jun 30, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Construction debris dumped on city roads

Waste material emptied surreptitiously at open places by lorry drivers

Lorries engaged to dump debris in open places during nights
Debris can destroy topsoil and choke drains: HUDA report

Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

EYESORE: Construction debris dumped on the Lower Tank Bund road.

HYDERABAD: The never-before construction activity that has gripped the city and suburbs has come out with a new problem of its own.

Glitzy structures are replacing old buildings and new ones are shaping in open spaces, but while metamorphosing the cityscape, it is leaving behind considerable refuse in the process.

No proper handling

The construction and demolition waste in tonnes neither gets a proper handling nor disposal that results in debris piling up at different points of the city.

Hired lorries pick the debris from the construction site during nights and surreptitiously dump them at open places along lower Tank Bund, Parsigutta, AOC Centre, Kondapur and Seri Lingampally.

If at some places these lorries empty the debris at single point, some others line it up in small mounds.

In days, the waste spills over the road and gives harrowing time to drivers particularly those on two-wheelers.

The demolition waste from razed structures is picked up in a lot by the lorry operators for a price to clear the site and after loading from evening, they drive around looking for a suitable dumping point in the darkness of night.

Many a new construction sites too engage these trucks and in most instances, the waste is cleared as and when it gets accumulated.

“There is no fixed charge and it depends on the site location,” says Rajaiah, driving down with a lorry load of debris at Himayathnagar. Where does he plan to drop it? “Today being Sunday, I am taking it out in afternoon. I plan to drive down between Rethibowli and Toli Chowki,” he reveals.

Ill effects

Concerns are made over the debris content and the ill effects resulting from the way it is dumped all over. A recent draft on Environmental Building Guidelines for Greater Hyderabad prepared by the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) point out that it could destroy the topsoil, choke drains apart from posing health threats.

This waste usually include concrete, steel and other metals, plastics, fluorescent tubes, wood beams, railings, doors and casings.

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