The Hindu : No place to dump garbage in Sunticoppa

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 21, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Others

No place to dump garbage in Sunticoppa

By Our Staff Correspondent

SUNTICOPPA (KODAGU DT.), JAN. 20. Sunticoppa, a small township in Somwarpet taluk of Kodagu, on Madikeri-Mysore stretch of State Highway 88, suffers from a rare problem. Garbage is dumped on a side of the road at a small distance from the town. This poses a health hazard and has become an eyesore.

In the early Seventies, Sunticoppa was governed by a town municipal council. The population was a little over 2,000 then. Later, the town came under the Wooliguli Gram Panchayat. The responsibility is now with the Sunticoppa Gram Panchayat. The population has become over 7,000. The town's problems have grown with the rise in population. Enormous garbage is generated everyday, especially on shandy days.

With more people settling around the market yard, the smoke from burning of garbage has led to protests. Following this, the panchayat started dumping garbage near the Ayyappa temple, a few 100 metres from the market yard. Stink emanating from the rotting garbage did not move anyone, including the panchayat officials.

The gram panchayat rued that it did not have a tractor to dump garbage in a desolate place. It wrote to the zilla panchayat and the State Government, seeking assistance to buy a tractor, but to no avail. A tractor was secured on bank loan some time ago.

Finally, the gram panchayat decided to dump garbage in a forest area near Anecad, about seven km. from the town on Kushalnagar Road.

The Forest Department took objection to it and seized the tractor after warning the panchayat on two or three occasions.

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