First rain exposes Walled City’s filthy lanes

Jaipur: A brief spell of rain Thursday exposed more than just the city’s poor drainage system. Years of neglect have turned narrow back lanes into a growing health hazard, said residents as garbage spilled onto the roads and dug-up trenches.

Residents alleged that many of these narrow service lanes have not been cleaned since last Diwali despite requiring regular manual cleaning.Civic officials said floating tenders for manual cleaning has been difficult as contractors are reluctant to undertake the work because of health risks.Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) is now exploring the use of compact cleaning machines with larger tank capacity to address the problem.“We expected the lanes to be cleaned before the rains, but the first shower itself left garbage outside our homes. We are now worried about mosquitoes and disease,” said resident Rajesh Sharma.Another resident, Shabana Khan, said rainwater mixed with waste reached residential areas, leaving behind a foul smell and unhygienic conditions.Former councillor Arvind Methi said the neglected lanes already had become breeding grounds for disease and warned that the situation could worsen if the garbage was not cleared immediately.

Former councillor Mohammad Zakariya questioned why road excavation work continued just before the monsoon, saying waste had accumulated in open pits and drains, aggravating the problem.Jaipur has around 5,200 such back lanes, nearly 80% of them in the Walled City, primarily in Kishanpole and Hawa Mahal zones.