Waterlogged roads have not only affected traffic but also hit garbage collection in East Delhi, leading to refuse overflowing from dhalaos (dumps).
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has now decided to hire additional garbage trucks to remove the accumulated trash.
At the weekly review meeting on Tuesday, EDMC Commissioner Mohanjeet Singh directed the Department of Environment Management Services (DEMS) to deploy privately-owned trucks to assist in garbage collection work. “Directions have been given to hire 20 more trucks to clear out the garbage that has collected in the monsoon. We are looking at clearing all the dhalaos by the weekend,” said EDMC spokesperson Yogendra Singh Mann.
The EDMC has 70 garbage trucks currently, but waterlogging and frequent breakdowns have hit the fleet in the past two weeks, a senior DEMS official said.
The official added that with trucks breaking down in the rain, they were being unable to reach the garbage dumps.
The official said the additional trucks would be initially hired for a month to ramp up garbage collection in the monsoon. Apart from more trucks, the drivers of the EDMC’s trucks have been asked to get minor repairs like fixing punctured tires done on the spot, rather than towing the vehicle back to the in-house workshop.
The EDMC is also ramping up sanitation work in the coming week, before it hosts Rio Olympics viewing sessions.
