The third of the four transit stations the Coimbatore Corporation has planned for solid waste management is ready. The Mayor S.M. Velusamy is expected to dedicate it to the city anytime soon.
Sources in the Coimbatore Corporation say that the third station, which has been set up in Ukkadam, is capable of handling 200 tonnes waste everyday. The waste that goes into the Ukkadam station will mostly be collected from the wards that form part of the South Zone. Depending upon the capacity, the Corproation will also collect waste from the West Zone.
As of now, the civic body has decided to collect waste from the southern parts of the city.
If the waste collected is around 200 tonnes, then the civic body may not be able to accommodate waste from the western areas.
If the waste from the southern parts constitute around 60 per cent, which is what the officials have estimate, then the remaining 40 per cent will be from the West Zone.
The civic body has construed the Ukkadam transit station under the public-private partnership mode at Rs. 2.50 crore. It is part of the larger solid waste management project, which is worth around Rs. 80 crore.
The city already has two transit stations – one on Sathyamanagalam Road and two in Peelamedu.
The two stations cater to the northern and eastern parts of the city. The Corporation is in the process of building the fourth transit station in Ondipudur.
The role of the transit stations is to compress the waste collected by lorries from various parts of the city and send them in closed containers to the waste treatment facility in Vellalore.
The sources say that the Corporation is in the process of finalising two more transit stations in the city to cater to the needs of the extended areas. These may be located somewhere in Vellakinaru and Kurichi.
