Private conservancy operator Ramky Enviro Engineers, which is in charge of solid waste management in three zones of Chennai Corporation, has sought more time to cover the entire Kodambakkam and Adyar zones.
The special purpose vehicle, Chennai Municipal Solid Waste Pvt. Ltd., set up by the company, was to launch operations across all the three zones by Tuesday. But, it has been able to cover the entire Teynampet zone comprising 18 wards and in one ward of the Kodambakkam zone.
“Apart from one month, ending today, the company has grace time till February 7 to take over the operations in all the three zones. They have asked for a few more days beyond the grace period, but we have asked them to speed up operations,” said a source in the Chennai Corporation. “We have completely taken over the operations in Teynampet zone and ward 121 in Kodambakkam zone. It is taking time to mobilise equipment. We need more bins, compactors and tricycles. We have placed orders and are awaiting shipment of the consignment,” said an official of the private firm, confirming that they have sought more time beyond February 7.
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The firm needs 1,200 tricycles, 67 compactors, 3,000 bins of 1,100 litre capacity each and 2,200 bins of 120-litre capacity each for the three zones. Of these, so far, it has received 32 compactors, about 600 tricycles and only half the number of bins. “We have asked our parent company to split the contracts for bins to more manufacturers to quicken the process,” the source added.
A source said that the company did not have enough time to prepare before the operations were inaugurated on January 12 in five wards of the Teynampet zone. K.V.P. Deepakraj, a resident of Bazaar Road in Mylapore, falling under Teynampet zone, said: “I am glad that the garbage is being cleared on a regular basis. Earlier, there used to be piles of garbage everywhere. It would be nice if the roads are also swept,” he said. T. Raghunathan, a resident of Chitraikulam in Mylapore, said workers from Ramky visited houses in their area from 6 a.m. “They come to my house around 7.30 a.m. I segregate wet and dry waste at home and give them in separate covers. This helps the conservancy staff members segregate the waste into separate bins,” he said.