Garbage clearance will be quicker and more frequent in Pallavaram municipality, in the coming months, as litter pushcarts are set to be replaced with battery-operated shuttle cars.
One such battery-operated vehicle has been in operation on a pilot basis over the past fortnight and the municipality is planning to purchase 42 more.
There are over 6,000 households in the areas of Hasthinapuram, Chromepet, Pallavaram, Keelkattalai and Nemmilichery, under the municipality.
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“The pushcarts were used to collect garbage twice a day. Now, the shuttle car does the rounds six times a day,” said S. Sivasubramanian, commissioner of Pallavaram municipality.
He said, as of now, the vehicle is in operation in a single area each day. “There are three compartments in the vehicle — for biodegradable, non-degradable and medical waste. Besides, since the vehicle has tubeless tyres, punctures won’t affect garbage clearance,” he said.
V. Ravi, who drives the battery-operated garbage vehicle said, “I used to suffer severe body pain from pedalling the tricycle with heavy loads of trash but not anymore. The new vehicle is pollution-free, time-saving and operator-friendly.”
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Mr. Ravi collects around one-and-a-half tonnes of garbage from 1,500 households in ward 40 alone.
However, V. Chellamani, a resident of Chromepet, said she has not found any changes in the garbage collection pattern.
But she supports the new exercise, an attempt by municipal authorities to reduce labour force, which is going to be scarce in the coming years.