Greasy liquid from city corporation trucks transporting garbage has become a source of danger on the streets of Dhaka, reports bdnews24.com.
Besides pollution and malodour, the slippery waste causes vehicles to skid, leading to accidents.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) transports 3,200 tonnes of waste to the landfill in Aminbazar every day while the amount of garbage transported by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) to Matuail landfill is 3,000 tonnes.
They use open trucks, dump trucks, container carriers, arm-roll carriers and compactor trucks to carry the waste.
Only the compactor trucks can hold the liquid from the waste, while others have leaks.
Tahsin Ahmed, a young man, and his friend were on their way from Kuril to Shyamoli on a motorcycle recently.
As they reached the Banani Road No. 1 bend in the Chairmanbari area on Airport Road, the motorcycle skidded and the duo fell.
They were slightly injured, but escaped disaster.
"I didn't notice the liquid from the waste on the street. And I didn't realise it was so slippery," Tahsin said.
"We skidded for at least 15 metres. We didn't bruise ourselves as fortunately the street was slippery. But if there had been a vehicle behind us, we would have been run over and killed. There's no one to take care of this problem."
Belal Hossain, who works in an organisation in Banani, was returning home after work some days ago.
"I pulled the brakes after seeing the greasy liquid, but it was too late. I fell," he said.
Several days of monitoring after the incident showed that a few garbage trucks get on Airport Road from the Chairman Bari area of Banani along the Banani Road No. 1 and Road No. 2. As the trucks travel along, they spill slippery, putrid liquid, leading to hazardous conditions.
Zainal Abedin Jony, the driver of a truck engaged in transporting waste from the secondary transfer station (STS) near the T&T field in Mohakhali to the Aminbazar landfill in Savar, told the news agency that garbage was brought to the STS by vans in the morning. Waste includes various types of perishables, household waste, kitchen waste, food waste.
"All day long, the liquid from this garbage leaks out. When we load the trucks, it falls on the road."
These trucks from different areas of Dhaka go to Aminbazar through Mirpur Road, Mazar Road, and then Gabtali. As a result, liquid waste spills at different places along that route. The smell is noticeable throughout the route in the evening.
On the night of April 4, three garbage trucks were going towards Gabtali through the Tejgaon-Bijoy Sarani overpass in Dhaka. Following the trucks, it became clear that all three were leaking liquid waste onto the road. It is not very clear when they move, but when the trucks stop at signals, the road is flooded with waste.
Sohrab Uddin, a resident of the Vasantek area, said motorcyclists are more afraid of the dirty water.
Sohrab, who uses a motorcycle, said that is a common occurrence on many roads in Dhaka. However, it is most common in the Gabtali and Jatrabari areas.
"Garbage trucks often spill dirty water. This water is very slippery. Driving behind those trucks is very risky, the wheels can skid. I have never fallen, but I have seen it happen once."
The Dhaka South City Corporation's waste is dumped at the Matuail landfill. Garbage vehicles pass through Sayedabad, Jatrabari, Golapbagh and Demra to reach the landfill.
On the night of Apr 6, liquid waste was seen leaking from most of the waste trucks travelling through Sayedabad, Jatrabari and Matuail. In addition to the liquid, some trucks also spilled garbage along the way. Various parts of the route, particularly from Sayedabad to Jatrabari and Matuail, were littered with garbage.
Salma, a tea shop owner on the side of the Dhalpur Junction road, said that many waste trucks pass through the road every day. Dirty water from these trucks falls on the road. Accidents often occur due to slippery roads.
"There is a bit (speed breaker) here. The garbage trucks that hit the breaker spill garbage onto the street. Dirty water falls too. Some people slip and fall every day. My shop is open all night. I see it happening regularly."
Two waste trucks were seen going back and forth from Jatrabari to Kajla. Liquid waste was seeping out of both trucks. The two trucks were stuck in the traffic jam for at least 15 minutes after going to the Kajla Bhangapress area. During that time, foul-smelling water spilled onto the road and people were forced to hold their noses.
Abu Taleb, a resident of Qazla area, tsaid the road had become slippery due to this spilled waste. He said he had seen it many times.
"I have seen many motorcycles with riders slipping in front of my eyes. Scraped knees, legs, and elbows are a daily occurrence. I have arranged to send some of them to the hospital. The worst thing is the risk of falling and being crushed by other vehicles."
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