BHOPAL: Keeping with the population, the city limits are extending but same cannot be said about maintenance of these areas. Despite several letters and complaints to Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) , residents of colonies near 80 feet road at posh Baghmugalia are yet to better and cleaner days.Speaking to TOI, residents of Meenakshi Planet City, Silver Fortune, Aranya Enclave and Flower City complained that the area has become a hub of open defecation in the absence of portable toilets.Reeta Prakasham, educationist and resident of Aranya Enclave said, “ Since this is an upcoming neighbourhood, a lot of construction activities are going on. The labourers set up their temporary shanties, but as they do not have portable toilets, they defecate in the open. The nearest portable toilet is also at a distance of 2 km, making it difficult for them to use.” Another looming problem in the area is lack of door to door garbage collection. “Earlier there was no garbage collection in the area. After several complaints to the BMC, the garbage-collection van started but it is not regular, neither does it provide door-to-door collection service. Besides, the collectors just dump all the waste near an empty plot instead of disposing it off properly”, said Savita Tyagi, homemaker.Lack of streetlights around the area has made it unsafe for residents, specially around Meenakshi Planet City where crimes like chain-snatching and pick-pocketing have become common. “There have been cases of theft four-five times in the last two years due to the slum area nearby,” complained Avnish Shukla, colony president. Shukla said it has been two years since housing socities have been developed near Ashima mall, but the entire stretch is without street lights and is plunged into darkness after the sun sets. No action has been taken despite several complaints to the BMC. “We are worried about the safety of the children and elderly people,” he added.Stagnant drains, growing number of mosquitoes are giving tough time to the residents of Baghmugalia, as few months ago, a dengue mosquito was spotted in the colony, after which BMC workers were called for fogging. “A few months back we spotted a dengue-mosquito and immediately called the BMC to fog the area . The workers came and sprayed medicine around few houses near the gate. We had to call them again to ensure that the disease-carrying mosquitoes were killed.“The BMC van or workers, as part of their daily job, do not come to inspect if the area requires any maintainence, instead, we have to file complaints, again and again, about everything to the authority,” said Abha Gupta, resident of Baghmugalia.Adding to the list, another resident of the area Reeta Tyagi, complained about the lack of parks and green-area in the colonies. “All of us here have children who like to go out to play in the evening, but, in the absence of a park, there is no safe for place for them to play. Similarly, elderlies miss going out and relaxing with friends. The nearest park is about 3 km form our colony and it is not possible for us to go there on a daily basis.“It should be made sure that every colony has a park with a 200 meter long walk-way. It will help citizens go for morning walks and breathe in fresh air”, she said.The residents believe that Archanan Parmar is the coroprator of the zone. When contacted, she said the colonies come under ward 53 which comes under Narayni Ahirwar.

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