Chennai’s waste output crosses 5000-tonne mark

Corporation officials said the rise was due to more vehicles and workers in conservancy operations

June 11, 2013 10:20 am | Updated 10:20 am IST - CHENNAI:

Chennai: 10.06.13. For City: Garbage dumping near the first day School opening at Manulmony School, Palavakkam,ECR.Photo: M_Karunakaran

Chennai: 10.06.13. For City: Garbage dumping near the first day School opening at Manulmony School, Palavakkam,ECR.Photo: M_Karunakaran

Municipal solid waste collected in Chennai per day has crossed the 5000-tonne mark. The Chennai Corporation has attributed the rise in garbage collection to increase in number of workers, night conservancy and deployment of additional vehicles.

“We have increased night conservancy in seven zones. Around 3,000 conservancy workers are at work every night. We have also upped the number of vehicles and workers in all areas. This contributed to the increase in garbage collection,” said a senior official of Chennai Corporation.

The increase is in spite of the fact that night conservancy workers in Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru.Vi.Ka. Nagar, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam and Adyar zones have been unable to collect garbage in many stretches as a lot of people sleep on the streets, the official said.

The civic body will devise a strategy to cope with this issue. “Compactors are unable to enter the streets. So workers are forced to pull bins for a distance without disturbing those asleep on the road,” said the official.

The civic body has a total of 493 vehicles for conservancy operations. It will procure 50 more compactors. In the 12 zones cleaned by the civic body, 3,437 of the 3,462 tricycles were taken out for conservancy operations on Monday. As many as 13,285 conservancy workers cleaned the streets on Monday in the 12 zones as against the requirement of 14,411 workers. However, as many as 16,338 workers are on the rolls.

The private conservancy operator in Teynampet, Kodambakkam and Adyar reported that 2,926 of its 3,364 workers were on duty. Around 90.1 percent of its 1,355 tricycles were engaged in conservancy operations. The civic body has started to remove garbage from transfer stations across the city on the same day. This has also increased the amount of garbage taken to Perungudi and Kodungaiyur dumpyards everyday. Earlier, large amounts of garbage were left to accumulate in transfer stations, causing health hazard to residents of the neighbourhood.

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