Times of
India: Haridwar: Thursday, 27 February 2020.
The
menace of dumping bio-medical waste in the open continues unabated in Haridwar.
An RTI reply from the health department has revealed that out of the total 306
private and government medical facilities in the city, only 61 have proper
arrangements for disposing bio-medical waste scientifically. Among these 61
facilities, 42 are government-run centres.
The
rest 245 medical facilities openly dump bio-medical wastes in the residential
areas which could trigger a spread of several diseases. The RTI was filed by
Shiv Sena district president Charanjeet Pawha.
Locals
claim that hospitals and clinics do no not abide by the rules and dump their
waste in public dustbins, due to which bio-medical waste gets mixed with
domestic waste.
Social
activist Vishal Garg told TOI, “Sanitation facilities are in a bad shape in
Haridwar and bio-medical waste is being dumped in the open and is getting mixed
with domestic waste. This could lead to a spread of infections in the city but
local officials are not taking concrete steps to address this issue.”
When
queried on the issue, Haridwar’s chief medical officer Saroj Naithani told TOI,
“A total of 306 hospital, clinics, and pathology labs are registered under the
Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act in the city. We ask
them to follow guidelines in regards to disposal of bio-medical waste. We will
set up an inquiry into the matter and strict action will be taken against those
who violate rules.”
Notably,
Haridwar generates around 250 metric tonnes of garbage (on an average) daily
and Roorkee Municipal Corporation collects around 125 metric tonnes of it.
During festival and religious fairs, the garbage quantity increases by 25%.
“All this waste isn’t treated. In fact, Haridwar Municipal Corporation collects
garbage from the city and dumps it in Sarai village. This continued dumping has
triggered a health scare among the people who live there,” a local said.
Meanwhile,
Haridwar Municipal Corporation commissioner Narendra Singh Bhandari told TOI,
“We do not collect bio-medical waste from hospitals or nursing homes. We have
directed our sanitation workers to not collect waste from hospitals. We will
take action if they are found dumping bio-medical waste in public dustbins.”
.JPG)
.JPG)
