Gokulpeth Canal Road Chokes on Public Apathy, Despite Regular Clean-Ups
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Nagpur: Gokulpeth Canal Road continues to reel under heaps of garbage, even as the city boasts of door-to-door waste collection, daily cleaning drives, and a recent 27th rank in the Swachh Survekshan 2025.
The persistent mess highlights a growing gap between civic infrastructure and public behaviour, with overflowing bins, open dumping, and rampant littering turning the stretch into a health and hygiene hazard.
A ground check paints a dismal picture — stray cows and dogs rummage through mounds of food waste, plastic wrappers, and household trash spilling from overflowing bins. Bystanders and residents continue dumping garbage on the footpath and road, ignoring the bins placed by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC).
Within an hour of being cleaned, the road is back to square one.
"The road is cleaned twice daily, but it's futile," said a local vendor. "People dump waste in front of shops, on footpaths, even in the middle of the road. It's a health hazard, especially during the rains."
Stagnant garbage has clogged drains and created breeding grounds for mosquitoes, adding to the public health risk. Waterlogged waste and open gutters further endanger pedestrians and two-wheeler riders.
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TOI found a cow chewing on plastic and food scraps, while dogs dragged garbage into the street. A leaking garbage bin stood nearby, unattended — a scene indicating sustained neglect.
Zonal sanitation officer Dindayal Tembekar maintained that cleaning is done regularly and said a proposal for underground bins is in the pipeline. "It might have been delayed today," he added.
However, civic officials agree the real issue lies in the lack of civic sense.
Despite the infrastructure, irresponsible dumping continues unchecked. The stray animals, drawn by the food waste, scatter the garbage even further.
Experts say cleanliness cannot be outsourced entirely to the civic body. Unless citizens actively participate, streets will remain filthy. Measures like spot fines, CCTV surveillance at littering hotspots, and focused awareness drives are long overdue.
Ironically, the return of garbage bins also marks a deviation from NMC's bin-free city plan launched in 2008-09 — underscoring the challenge of aligning urban planning with public behaviour.
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