Noida: Mounting garbage and recurring Ganga water pipeline leakages have triggered fresh complaints from residents across several Greater Noida sectors, with recent rain worsening the situation. Areas including Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma reported overflowing waste dumps, while pipeline leakages in Alpha and Gamma sectors flooded roads and green belts.Despite officials promising better sanitation in the area, residents said little is actually being done to address the problem. “If there’s a small pile of garbage, the truck will not collect it. The workers say the sweepers will take it later. Why are we paying for garbage collection then, if sweepers will do it instead?” said Neelam Yadav, a resident of Sector Beta 1.Residents across Alpha 1 and 2, Beta 1 and 2, Delta, Surajpur-Dadri road and more raised concerns that standards of waste management are deteriorating. Noting that piling waste could lead to various health hazards, residents said the Greater Noida Authority needed to take immediate action to remedy the issue of overflowing garbage bins in parks.
Stray cattle make hay at waste dumps left untended in Sector Alpha 2 Greater Noida
In response to the complaints, Gaurav Baghel, manager at Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), directed senior public health inspectors to investigate the ongoing issues. Residents, however, remained sceptical, claiming there has been little progress so far.Reports of leaks in the Ganga water pipeline on Sunday added to residents’ woes, with some areas seeing dirty water running through their taps. The area saw showers on Sunday afternoon that left many stretches waterlogged, with the leaks only exacerbating the issue.Residents alleged pipeline leaks and water contamination have been a recurring issue across the city. The quality of drinking water is seeing a severe decline, residents said, adding that dirty water flowed through taps at some homes on Sunday too.
A pipeline leak added to waterlogging issues at this service road in Alpha 2
“I had lodged a complaint with the Authority previously, but there was no response. How long must the residents of the sector continue to drink contaminated water?” said Pawan Nagar, RWA president of Gamma 2.Harinder Bhati, Beta 1 RWA general secretary, criticised GNIDA’s water department for inaction, adding, “Treated Ganga water constantly flows onto the streets of Greater Noida. How long must the city’s residents continue to drink contaminated water?”In Beta 1, residents claim the pipeline has sprung persistent leaks near Vishwa Bharati School for several months now, but was only repaired over the weekend. Now, open pits have been left behind after the ground was dug-up for repairs. Residents also claimed work was only undertaken here after they began posting about the issue on social media, alleging negligence on the part of officials.
In Gamma 2, dirty water trickled from taps on Sunday
“Ganga water is spilling on the streets and green belts of the Sector, instead of the taps in the households. The water pipeline was laid by GNIDA but it has burst or leaked nearly 50 times in two years,” said Subhash Bhati, RWA president of Alpha 2.A comment from the Authority on the pipeline leaks is awaited.
