‘e-rickshaws’ likely to make trash collection easy and clean

Monday, 17 July 2017 11:29 administrator
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The Hindu        17.07.2017  

‘e-rickshaws’ likely to make trash collection easy and clean

Officials conducted a trial run in some areas in Tirupati, planning for 50 vehicles

The manual door-to-door waste collection and segregation in the temple city might get a ‘smart’ makeover! The Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) is planning to introduce electric vehicles, 'e-rickshaws', for the purpose, combined with its ongoing dry and wet waste segregation process.

Speaking to The Hindu , MCT Commissioner Ch. Hari Kiran said they would take a call after evaluating the performance of the vehicles. “We have been approached by two companies and we called them for a demonstration. Our main aim is to ensure a speedier collection of garbage along with the concept of segregating dry and wet waste. As some of the recyclable waste is going to the dumpyards, we would like to address the issue and transfer the same to dry waste collection centres and subsequently put them for a better use,” he added.

The officials inspected the vehicles on Sunday and conducted a trial run in the Balaji Colony, Police Quarters and Prakasam Road areas.

Currently, municipal workers are using three-wheeler carts for collecting and segregating waste.

Introduction of the vehicles would not only ease the burden of the workers but also enable them reach inaccessible lanes of the temple city. The officials are planning to introduce about 50 vehicles.

Features

A representative from the Coimbatore-based Priyam Industries and Engineering Ltd. A.M. Venkatachalapathy, who displayed the vehicle at the Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) office on Saturday, spoke to The Hindu on the features of the electric vehicle.

Retrofitted with the trademark red and green waste bins of the MCT, the vehicle can carry a load of 250 kg and can be upgraded to 500kg. It requires three units of power for full charge and can cover a distance of 60 km, with a maximum speed of 30 kmph.

Based on the requirements of the MCT, Mr. Venkatachalapathy said, the vehicles could be fitted with GPS for tracking their movement.

Meanwhile, the MCT officials have found a unique solution for the early morning chores of pilgrims visiting the temple city, by integrating the features of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Mapping of facilities

With the help of a team from the Quality Control India, New Delhi, the officials have mapped the locations of public/community toilets and uploaded the same via Google Maps, particularly at the transit points.

In addition to this, details of the government and private hospitals, shopping malls and complexes, petrol pumps, restaurants etc., (a total of 65 locations) have also been uploaded for the benefit of the numerous devotees visiting the temple city.