Kudumbasree Cleanwell units engaged in collection and transportation of household garbage will soon be equipped with new vehicles.
The City Corporation has placed orders for four-wheeler carrier vehicles to replace the three-wheelers currently in use. In the first phase, 60 vehicles costing Rs.2 lakh each are being ordered.
The 73 Cleanwell units in the city currently use the three-wheelers to transport the garbage collected from households to the fleet of Corporation trucks that take it to the treatment plant at Vilappilsala. The Kudumbasree units had purchased the vehicles with loan assistance from banks.
“The constant exposure to leachate and garbage tends to corrode the loading bays of the three-wheelers. Many of the units are forced to spend a major portion of their earnings on repair and maintenance, affecting their repayment capacity,” G.R. Anil, chairman of the Corporation's standing committee on health, said.
“Any repair work lasting more than a day also has an impact on the garbage collection. Besides, the three-wheelers are prone to toppling. There have been several accidents, resulting in injuries to the women operating the vehicles. That is why we decided to replace three-wheelers with new vehicles.”
The four-wheelers are being offered to the Cleanwell units on loan at concessional rate of interest.
The Corporation is also planning to equip the Kudumbasree units to set up workshops on their own for repair and maintenance of the vehicles. Officials said that would help them save on expensive repairs carried out by automobile workshops.
Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan will inaugurate the distribution of the new vehicles to Cleanwell units at a function to be held at the Central Stadium on Friday.
