Mela Festival leaves Victoria Square in ‘poor state’, organiser apologises for mess

Cardboard boxes, takeaway containers, plastic bottles and more – Victoria Square has become a “rubbish dump” following a weekend event.

Rubbish including beer and soft drink cartons, paper and plastic cups left in Victoria Square two days after the Mela Festival. Picture: Russell Millard

Victoria Square was left a “rubbish dump” after a community event over the weekend but organisers have blamed the mess on a mix-up with a contractor.

City workers on Monday were greeted by piles of cardboard boxes, plastic cups, oil cans and general refuse in the square generated from the two-day Mela Festival held on the northern side of the square on Friday and Saturday February 26 and 27.

The volunteer-run event organised by the not-for-profit Indian Australian Association of South Australia and supported by the State Government attracted hundreds to traditional music, food, dance and culture.

But Northfield resident and city worker Andres Munoz-Lamilla, 44, contacted The Advertiser alarmed that he was able to walk past rubbish nearly two days after the event.

“It’s just disgusting,” he said. “Imagine if there are visitors to the city and the first thing they see is rubbish everywhere. The square was turned into a rubbish dump.”

Rubbish generated from the Mela Festival in Victoria Squre. Picture: Russell Millard

But Mela organiser Trimann Gill said there was a “communication error” with a contractor who removed the fence on Sunday night, instead of Monday, meaning the site was made publicly accessible before it could be cleaned.

“I understand it’s not a good look for the public,” he said of the rubbish. “But we have tried to clean it up as soon as possible.

“It’s clean now and tonight they will try and scrub the tiles … it will look better than ever.”

Workers scrub and sweep decking boards in a clean-up effort of Victoria Square following the Mela Festival. Picture: Russell Millard

A council spokesman said the council was aware that the square was left in a “poor state” and that staff had since “worked closely” with the organiser to ensure requirements of the event licence were met.

“As part of the requirement within the event licence, a significant clean-up was undertaken today in readiness for site handover,” he said.

“The removal of event infrastructure can sometimes impact on how quickly a site can be remediated.

“The expectation is the site will be fully cleaned by close of business tomorrow.”