Garbage Trucks Off Roads For Want Of Fuel, Srinagar Stinks

Srinagar, Sept 25: Around 200 trucks that carry garbage to the dumping site at Achan have gone off the roads from the last few days for want of “fuel”, leaving the Srinagar, the winter capital of J&K, literally stinking.
Official sources said that huge piles of garbage have accumulated in various localities from last few days as the trucks are stuck after a petrol pump owner stopped filling the fuel as government owes over Rs 80 lakhs to him.
Heaps of waste have been lying in various garbage collection areas for these days even as the staff of Srinagar Municipal Corporation continues to carry door to door collection every day. “After collection, the garbage is dumped at these sites which only add to garbage piles getting bigger.”
A senior official at SMC said that Chief Accounts Officer has been on leave from last one month and in absence of the alternative, the outstanding amount of the petrol pump owner piled up to around Rs 80 lakhs.
When contacted Commissioner SMC Gazanfar Ali confirmed that there has been outstanding amount in around Rs 80 lakhs lakhs on account of the filling of the fuel to the trucks.
“There are more 175 trucks that lift the garbage every day. Due to the non availability of the Chief Accounts Officer who was on leave from last one month, the outstanding to the petrol pump owner has piled up and he stopped filling the trucks,” he said, adding, “I am thankful to Financial Commissioner Shri Arun Mehta and Director General Shri Das who have issued orders fiving additional charge of CAO to Mr Rafiq Ahmad Shah who joined today.”
Now that the message has gone to the petrol pump owner that CAO has joined, he will resume filling from Saturday, he said.
“Hopefully, form tomorrow the normal operation will resume and all the piles of garbage will be removed from streets (of Srinagar).”