The Hindu 01.12.2009

Producing power from garbage to be examined

Special Correspondent

VELLORE: The Vellore Corporation would be examining offers received from VIT University and various other companies for establishing facilities for generating electricity from the garbage that has accumulated in the Corporation’s compost yard in Sadupperi, according to P. Karthikeyan, Mayor of Vellore.

Presiding over the ordinary meeting of the Corporation Council here on Monday, Mr. Karthikeyan was responding to a question from the 25th ward councillor K. Srinivasa Gandhi (Congress) on whether the Corporation would undertake scientific solid waste management in the Sadupperi compost yard in the light of the frequent agitations resorted to by the people of Sadupperi village panchayat. They had been urging the Corporation to stop dumping garbage in the Sadupperi compost yard in view of the pollution of groundwater in Sadupperi village owing to the seepage of rain water mixed with the mounting garbage over the years.

Mr. Gandhi pointed out that the 8.8 acres of land acquired by the Vellore Corporation in Sathupalayam village in 2007 for the establishment of a second compost yard was remaining idle. He wanted to know whether the Corporation had any plans to undertake solid waste management in that place. The Mayor said that the problem of garbage would be solved if electricity could be generated from the garbage. “We will try to speed up the work of examining the offers and awarding the contract,” he said.

Mr. Karthikeyan said in response to a question from Dayalraj, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillor, that he would be requesting Law Minister Durai Murugan to take up with the State government the question of including the Christian Medical College (CMC) Hospital under the Kalaignar’s Insurance Scheme for Life-Saving Treatment for the benefit of the people of Vellore. He said that he had already requested the Collector of Vellore to take steps for the inclusion of the CMC Hospital under the scheme so that the beneficiaries of the scheme in Vellore could get treatment at the CMC Hospital. He appealed to the councillors to create awareness about the scheme among the people in their wards and get all the eligible families in their wards enrolled in the scheme when a photography team camps in Vellore from December 7 to 13 for the purpose of photographing the families which have applied for enrolment in the scheme, he said.

R. Arunachalam (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), 30th ward councillor, wanted the Corporation to take steps to make available drugs for chikungunya in the maternal and child health centres in Vellore in view of the prevalence of the disease in the town. At present, the drugs were available only in the Government Vellore Medical College Hospital in Adukkamparai, and the affected patients had to wait in a queue for long hours in the hospital to get the drugs. Since the rainfall in Vellore was scanty, the Corporation Council should pass a resolution urging the State government to declare Vellore district as drought-hit, he said.

The Mayor said that funds have been received both under the MPs Local Area Development Scheme of the Vellore MP and the Constituency Development Fund of the Vellore MLA for undertaking schemes for augmentation of the drinking water resources of the Vellore Corporation. A scheme for digging a deeper borewell in the Otteri lake is also on the anvil for the purpose of augmenting the drinking water supply to Vellore, he said. Balasundaram (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam) wanted the Mayor to request the Collector to inspect the Otteri lake and take steps to desilt the stormwater drains carrying rainwater to Otteri so that the lake — which is one of the drinking water sources of Vellore — would get filled during the rains.

Gopi (MDMK) wanted the Corporation to take steps to plant more trees in Vellore in order to contribute to the task of preventing global warming. The Mayor said that several trees had been planted in Vellore under the Green Vellore Project launched by the VIT University. The Corporation would take steps to plant more trees, he said.

P.P. Jayaprakash (Congress) said that out of the sanctioned strength of 27 sanitary workers in his ward, only six workers were available, as a result of which sanitation had deteriorated in the ward. He wanted sanitary workers to be appointed on a daily-wage basis to take care of the sanitary work.

Replying to the demand from Mr. Gandhi for taking steps to prevent the overflow of drainage water on to the road in Thennamaram Street, the Mayor asked the Municipal Engineer Devakumar to take steps to link the drainage canal in Thennamaram Street to the newly laid drainage canal in Officers’ Line. When Babu (Congress) and Shanmugam (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) pointed out that the roads within the Nethaji Market had become too narrow, causing congestion owing to encroachments, Mr. Karthikeyan said that he and the Commissioner would take steps to remove the encroachments if the councillors cooperated with the Corporation in the task.