A concerned resident of Mumbai’s Oshiwara area has taken to Reddit to express frustration over the deteriorating state of sanitation in the locality. The post, which includes seven photographs of roadside garbage piles and construction debris, has gone viral with over 800 upvotes, drawing significant public attention to an issue that many believe is both a civic and societal failure.
“I’m writing this out of genuine concern and frustration,” the user wrote. “I am a resident of Behraum Baug, Oshiwara, and it has become a common sight to see garbage dumped right on the roadside and even on the dividers. Piles of plastic, food waste, construction debris you name it. It’s not just an eyesore anymore; it’s a serious health hazard, especially with the monsoon around the corner.”
Highlighting the implications for public health, the user wrote, “This is turning into a breeding ground for diseases, mosquitoes, rodents, and foul smell everywhere. Every civilian walks past it, elderly people live near it. It’s disgusting.”
The post also raises questions about the role of local authorities. “Is the richest municipal corporation of India even aware of what’s going on? Is anyone inspecting these areas? Are there no dustbins or is this just sheer apathy? It is 2025 till when are we going to struggle with the basics like roads and proper waste management?”
The resident also acknowledged the public’s role in the problem, writing, “But honestly, we also need to look at ourselves. People in the area are responsible for being so careless. Is it so hard to carry garbage a little further to a bin or wait for collection services?”
The post concluded with an open appeal for suggestions: “This isn’t a rant for the sake of complaining. I need to know if there is a proper grievance portal to get this issue solved.
Look at the post here:
This is what our roads have come to—piles of garbage, zero accountability.
byu/Select-Bread2173 inmumbai
The post prompted an influx of responses from fellow citizens, many offering potential solutions and personal anecdotes. One user suggested leveraging social media to engage with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), “Write a complaint to the BMC on Twitter. Call them if you can. We’ve had similar problems in our area and they’re pretty good at cleaning up quickly. BMC even stationed someone at a problem spot for a few days, but things went back to how they were. I doubt the BMC can do anything here—it’s the people. They have complete disregard for their surroundings. Changing that would mean changing habits, and that’s no small task.”
Another comment pointed to systemic issues, stating, “I have been seeing this for the past 33 years. It’s a cocktail of no garbage collection services for slum-dwellers and a general disregard for cleanliness among people. Add to that builders illegally dumping construction debris and the garbage mound only grows.”
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A more practical suggestion came from a user who recommended a government app, “There is one app—Swachhata MoHUA. If you click a picture of the garbage and fill out their form, someone from the government usually comes to clean the area within 24 hours. That was the case initially; it’s worth trying again.”
Another user commented, “I genuinely want to know where do the good engineering minds of this country go? We need serious technological solutions to move mountains of trash. Can no one address the layers upon layers of bureaucracy?”
