The Odisha unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a dramatic protest on Tuesday, accusing the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) of massive corruption in the implementation of the Smart City project. In a symbolic gesture, BJP members unloaded a truckload of garbage in front of the BMC office. The protest also linked the civic body to the Gadakana dumping yard dispute, according to Odisha TV's report.
Visuals of the protest were shared by news agency ANI which reported that the protesting workers were detained by the police.
"This is their rule... The BMC had earlier taught us that waste and garbage will be dumped on the person or organisation who does not keep their surroundings clean. BMC has erred here by not cleaning up Bhubaneswar, that is why we have dumped garbage in front of its office," BJP spokesperson Dilip Mohanty asserted, as quoted by the report.
He accused Odisha government officials of misappropriating funds allocated under the Smart City project, claiming that the city has turned into a dumping yard with a pervasive foul smell.
Mohanty criticised the BMC Commissioner, stating, "BMC Commissioner is a liar. Even during the dengue, when the BMC failed to curb the mosquito menace, he threatened the residents of Bhubaneswar to collect fines from them", as per Odisha TV.
The BJP's protest comes as a response to what they deem as the BMC's failure in managing dumping yards and waste in Bhubaneswar.
In a notable incident in July this year, the BMC took a confrontational step by dumping a tractor-load of trash in front of a hotel near Kalpana Square in Odisha's capital, alleging sanitation norm violations by the hotel.
The hotel owner had to clear the garbage by spending his own money for it while also having to pay a fine amounting to Rs 20,000.
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