In a bid to protect the environment of Madurai, the Corporation has deployed 509 battery-operated vehicles for door-to-door collection of garbage.
Minister for Cooperation Sellur K. Raju and Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan flagged off the vehicles in Bethaniapuram in Ward 21 on Saturday.
To address the issue of solid waste management, they distributed blue and green dustbins to the residents to segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste at source.
Swachh Bharat volunteers went door-to-door, distributing pamphlets and educating residents about benefits of waste segregation.
They told the residents that green dustbins were meant for dumping biodegradable waste, and blue dustbins for non-biodegradable waste.
“Last week, cleaning of Chintamani channel at Bethaniapuram began. Similarly, desilting work in all the 13 channels in Madurai, running to a total length of 58 km, will start from today (Saturday),” said Mr. Raju. “The battery-operated vehicle costs ₹1.8 lakh each and ₹9 crore was spent on procuring them,” he added.
The government was working towards completion of Mullaperiyar drinking water project, which would address the water shortage in Madurai, the Minister said.
Out of the 509 battery-operated vehicles, 250 have been bought by the Corporation under the Smart Cities Mission project. The remaining 259 vehicles are funded under Swachh Bharat Mission.“The Smart Cities Mission initiatives will be successful only with the support and cooperation of residents. We request people to segregate waste and not dump them in the storm water channels,” said Mr. Visakan. He also urged the residents to stop using banned plastic products and contribute to the process of making Madurai plastic-free.
City Health Officer (in charge) M. Saroja and City Engineer S. Arasu were present.
