Festivities leave heaps of trash on Tiruchi streets

TIRUCHI Deepavali festivities left heaps of trash on the streets of the city on Tuesday, in addition

Deepavali festivities left heaps of trash on the streets of the city on Tuesday, in addition to the about 450 tonnes of solid waste generated on a normal day.

There was additional garbage to the extent of 100 tonnes generated on account of Deepavali. Piled up cracker waste, plastics used for wrapping crackers, boxes, food leftovers and domestic waste were a common sight in the city, including Thillai Nagar, Raja Colony, Thennur, Woraiyur, Srirangam, Thiruvanaikoil, Varaganeri, East Boulevard Road, Cantonment, K.K. Nagar, Karumandapam, Bheema Nagar and many other places in the city.

Substantial trash generated on commercial streets, including NSB Road, Singarathope, Super Bazaar, Chinna Kadai Street, Big Bazaar, Main Guard Gate, and Chathiram Bus Stand, was cleared. Though the additional collection could not be termed a real burden, the garbage collection from Sunday was not up to the usual level as several workers were on leave.

According to a rough estimate, the total garbage piled up in the city on Monday and Tuesday was said to be around 700 tonnes. The officials had planned to clear at least 75 % of garbage on the day after Deepavali. But they could manage to collect just about 50% of the garbage as more than half of the sanitary workers opted for leave on Tuesday. Several of them cited sick as reason for the leave.

A senior official of the Corporation told The Hindu that the garbage on main roads had been cleared. However, heaps of garbage on several interior roads and streets could not be cleared on Tuesday as several workers could not turn up due to the current climatic condition. The entire strength of sanitary workers would be involved in garbage clearance and disposal duty on Wednesday. The entire garbage generated on the Deepavali and the post festival days would be cleared within two days, the official said.