The Hindu 23.04.2010
Corporation begins hunt for parking yard
Special Correspondent
| To keep loaded garbage trucks during daytime |
Putherikandam Maidan closed for beautification work
Truck workers resort to lightning stir after attack
Thiruvananthapuram: The beautification work of the Putherikandam Maidan at East Fort has resulted in a predicament for the city Corporation which is now forced to identify an alternative location to park its fleet of loaded garbage trucks during daytime.
With the sprawling grounds out of bounds for the garbage truck fleet since Monday, the vehicles are now parked at other places, inviting resistance from residents and councillors. On Thursday, drivers and crew members of the trucks launched a lightning strike after one of them was allegedly assaulted for parking a loaded vehicle by the roadside at Jagathy.
Senior Corporation functionaries, including Mayor C. Jayan Babu, swung into action and persuaded the striking union to drop the strike but they admitted that a permanent solution to the problem depended on identifying an alternative location. The Mayor has convened a meeting of Corporation officials and standing committee chairmen on Friday to discuss the matter.
Chairman of the standing committee on health G.R. Anil said the trucks would be temporarily parked on the land belonging to the Corporation at Jagathy and Chalai and adjacent to some of the markets in the city. He said the local body had identified land to set up a parking bay with service facilities and workshop for the vehicles. This, he said, would provide a permanent solution.
The Corporation operates its garbage trucks to the treatment plant at Vilappilsala only at night to minimise the inconvenience caused to the residents in the suburban panchayat. After loading, the trucks are parked in the city up to 10 p.m. when they start transportation.
“The acquisition of a new batch of 10 garbage trucks with airtight loading bays is expected to minimise the problem of smell that is the main cause for people's resistance to parking in their locality,” Mr. Anil said. “We have also decided to fix lids on top of the existing trucks.”
With the beautification of the Putherikandam Maidan reaching the final phase, the contractors have begun filling the grounds with fresh soil. “The trucks had to be shifted out to avoid the leachate polluting the soil,” Mr. Anil said.
Meanwhile, the Corporation has drawn up plans to set up an automated washing facility at the Vilappil plant for trucks leaving the site after dumping garbage.
“This, along with a service facility at the yard in the city, would ensure that the vehicles remain clean,” Mr. Anil said.
