The Hindu 20.12.2011
Garbage piles up, hygiene comes down
The accumulation of garbage continues to be a problem in the residential and commercial areas in Vellore Corporation since the concept of daily collection of garbage from houses and shops is yet to be implemented in the Vellore Corporation.
The people in the erstwhile town panchayats of Allapuram and Thorappadi, who hoped that things would turn for the better after the annexation of these local bodies to the Vellore Corporation are disappointed that things have not improved except for the fact that the Corporation has placed dumper dustbins on Azad Road in Thorappadi and in different parts of Allapuram. But the practice of dumping garbage on vacant plots continues.
In the absence of daily collection, the accumulating garbage causes an unbearable stench in places like Kumaraswamy Street Extension in Thorappadi and Khaderpet in Chinna Allapuram. The garbage is cleared only once a week or in 10 days.
The residents of Kumaraswamy Street Extension dumped garbage on a vacant plot since the plastic bin that was kept there was burnt along with the garbage which was burnt by the residents about two years ago.
The residents want a steel dumper bin to be placed there to facilitate the dumping of garbage in the bin and prevent the dumping on the vacant plot and the resultant health hazard.
The shop-keepers on Kripananda Variar Road (Long Bazaar) complained of unbearable stench from the garbage accumulating in the place behind the fish market. The problem has aggravated after the crumbling of the wall of the market selling bamboo baskets on Anna Bazaar, adjacent to the fish market. The shop-keepers dump the garbage over the wall into the space behind the fish market.
The volume of garbage has increased after this, and though the Corporation workers remove the garbage every day, it is not removed completely, as a result of which the stench continues for the whole day, complain shop-keepers. They want the garbage to be removed completely before the opening of the shops daily.
When asked about the steps taken by the Corporation to address the problem of accumulating garbage, Seeni Ajmal Khan, Commissioner of Vellore Corporation told The Hindu that the State government has sanctioned Rs.20 crore to the Corporation under the Urban Development Mission, of which Rs.five crore has been sanctioned for solid waste management (SWM).
After the annexation of nearby town panchayats to Vellore Corporation, the latter is handicapped by the shortage of vehicles used for removal of garbage and the shortage of drivers.
The problem of accumulating garbage behind the fish market was due to the fact the existing excavator vehicle is engaged full time in the compost yard in Sadupperi.
The Corporation proposed to buy four dumper placer vehicles which would collect the garbage stored in the steel dumper bins placed in various roads in the Corporation area, two compacter vehicles for transporting the garbage in a compacted position to the Sadupperi compost yard, and about 200 push-carts and tricycles.
Once the new vehicles were purchased, the problem of accumulating garbage could be solved. Besides, the Corporation proposed to engage ex-servicemen drivers to operate the vehicles involved in collection and transport of garbage, he said. The Commissioner said that the Corporation proposed to hand over the SWM project in the Corporation to the private sector on a BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis.
Since the Corporation generated about 175 tonnes of garbage daily, the entrusting of the work to a private agency would facilitate the daily collection of garbage, scientific processing of garbage, and a solution to the environmental problem.
After obtaining a
consultancy report, the Corporation would call for tenders for
entrusting the SWM to a private agency, he said.
