Thanekars fume over garbage crisis; 11,000 tonnes cleared, claims TMC

Garbage from housing societies in the Vasant Vihar area in Thane West. According to residents, the Thane Municipal Corporation has utterly failed to manage waste effectively for the past few days

Thane residents have been complaining about uncollected garbage accumulating in lanes and bylanes over the past few days, which is responsible for a foul stench. Irate with the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) for, allegedly, not collecting the waste, local political workers - including Suhas Desai, the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) city head - dumped trash outside the civic body's headquarters as a show of protest. However, downplaying the issue, TMC officials claimed that they had already collected 11,000 tonnes of waste and were in the process of setting up two new refuse treatment plants. They added that the issue would be sorted out soon.

Desai said, "The corporation has not succeeded in solving waste management issues. If this problem is not solved, I will throw garbage on each floor of the TMC building."

Dinkar Fulsundar, a Wagle Estate resident; (right) Swapnil Mahindrakar, civic activist

Swapnil Mahindrakar, a civic activist, said, "Waste is piling up in every housing society in Thane. The stench of garbage is everywhere. The issue gained prominence after a heap of waste caught fire at the Wagle Estate refuse station, which is in a residential area."

"Locals have been opposing this station for a long time as all the waste generated in Thane city is stored here for segregation."

According to the records, approximately 624 tonnes of wet waste and 390 tonnes of dry waste are generated daily in Thane city. Due to local opposition to the Wagle Estate refuse station, the TMC started directly transporting collected garbage to Bhiwandi 35 km away.

Dinkar Fulsundar, a Wagle Estate resident, said, "I live near the segregation centre of the TMC. We always suffer because of the foul smell. Also, the road near the refusal station is terribly congested due to the presence of heavy waste vehicles."

Meanwhile, Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Thane Manish Joshi claimed, "We have cleared 11,000 tonnes of waste over the past few days and plan to set up two more refuse stations. Currently, we are taking waste to the Adkoli waste station in Bhiwandi."

624 tonnes
Approximate amount of wet waste generated daily in Thane city