Many residential neighbourhoods in the city are soon to have new garbage bins. The Chennai Corporation will soon procure 2,000 bins for locations where garbage is being dumped on the street.
The finalisation of the tender and the arrival of the bins are likely to add momentum to Chennai Corporation’s plan to gradually restore the bins to the original position in many places following opposition from residents to the creation of enclosures.
Mayor’s brainchild
The garbage bin enclosure project, a brain child of Mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy, was to be implemented at 1,293 locations in seven zones in the old corporation limits. Work was completed in many of the locations at an estimated cost of Rs.4.35 crore.
The proposal involved grouping garbage bins and the civic body had started installing blue corrugated iron sheets to cover garbage bins all over the city. The bins were proposed to be accessible only to the tricycle men and compactor helpers in the area. But ragpickers, dogs and cattle continue to have access to the covered bins and this has emerged a stumbling block to keeping the area around the bins clean.
At every location, between five and 10 bins have been placed.
Hindrance to Ramky
The Corporation’s new system has also hindered the normal functioning of the private conservancy operator Ramky Enviro Engineers in Adyar, Teynampet and Kodambakkam zones.
Over 6,000 bins in the old corporation limits were relocated as part of the project. However, residents in some areas have been objecting to the grouping of bins as stench is unbearable with garbage from nearby commercial establishments being dumped in many such enclosures.
