The foul smell that rents the air in some areas in Chandannagar is set to be a matter of the past as the civic body has started work on the construction of a trenching ground outside the city, said Ram Chakraborty, mayor of Chandannagar Municipal Corporation (CMC).

From the days when Chandannagar was a French colony, garbage used to be dumped inside the city. The area is called bhagar in colloquial language.

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As a result, people residing at places surrounding the bhagar find it difficult to stay because of the foul smell particularly during summer, when the breeze from river Hooghly blows towards the city.

A meeting was held between Indranil Sen, state information and cultural affairs minister, who is also the local MLA and Pulak Roy, state PWD minister along with the mayor and it was decided that a trenching ground where the garbage can be offloaded needs to be set up.

A solid waste processing unit will come up on six acres of land in Ward 29, said Mr Chakraborty. “It will take a year to construct the unit. When it is completed, the foul smell that creates a major problem will be a matter of the past,” he said. Mr Chakraborty said the civic authorities have chalked out a well-knit plan to remove the garbage.

Citizens have been given two bins, one to collect wet waste and another for dry waste. The CMC workers will collect them from every household. The segregation of garbage is a major issue.

A major campaign had been carried out to ensure that people throw garbage in the bins. The conservancy workers visit the households without fail and this worked liked miracle. The whole city looks clean.”

The civic authorities, along with some NGOs have planted saplings to make the city look greener. “Jagatdhatri Puja is a major challenge for us. During immersion, heavy duty cranes are used to remove the wooden structure and nets are used to collect straw. The flowers are collected and kept in waste bins before immersion.

The CMC’s drive to clean river Hooghly under Namami Gange project has been very successful,” mayor Chakraborty of the civic body maintained.

The famous strand of Chandannagar has been declared as a heritage zone by the West Bengal Heritage Commission following sustained efforts of Chandannagar College.