Mayor V.V. Rajan Chellappa, has renewed his promise of making Madurai a clean city by announcing mass cleaning programmes in one ward each in four zones every Saturday. Besides, he warned that fine would be imposed on those who litter in public places.
Talking to reporters in Madurai on Saturday, Mr. Chellappa said all the 2,000-odd sanitary workers would be encouraged to work additional hours than the present six hours a day. Besides, all the vehicles meant for solid waste management would be deployed.
“We will try to rope in voluntary organisations and National Service Scheme volunteers in the mass cleaning programmes,” he said.
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Garbage from the dumper bins kept on the streets around Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple would be cleared during night hours too, to make the area garbage free. Similarly, market areas would be cleaned in the evening hours too. Twenty-five workers would be deployed in each zone exclusively for sand sweeping.
Stating that all the tea shops in the city have been provided with plastic dust bins to prevent littering on roads, Mr. Chellappa said that people who continue to litter the public places would be imposed fine. “A fine of Rs. 100 would be imposed on first time offenders. Habitual offenders would have to pay Rs. 500 fine,” the Corporation Commissioner, R. Nanthagopal, said.
The Corporation would soon procure 50 dumper placers, two compactors, 400 big and 125 small dumper bins, around 200 tricycles at a cost of Rs. 10 crore under solid waste management programme. He added that the Corporation was ready to provide dumper bins to private organisations.
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Hotels, lodges warned
The Mayor said that notices have been issued to hotels and lodges against dumping used plantain leaves and other solid wastes into the underground drainage that often resulted in the choking of the system and overflowing of sewage on the roads.
The hotels and lodges have been asked to put up filtering chambers to prevent solid wastes from getting into the underground drainage, he added.
No water shortage
Stating that the city was not facing any water shortage, Mr. Chellappa said that after release of water from Vaigai dam, the infiltration wells of the corporation water projects have been recharged. “We will not face any problem for the next one-and-a-half months,” he added.
In some places where pumping of water was disrupted by power cuts, the Corporation was taking efforts to put up generators.
He said that sintex tanks would be provided at all required places in the added areas of the city. “If required, we will operate additional tankers,” he said.