Damaged vehicles delay waste collection in Old Washermenpet

CHENNAI: While the civic body has been carrying out intensive cleaning drives across the city for the last few months, residents of Old Washermenpet lament over the dilapidated condition of the battery-operated vehicles that don’t even have proper segregation bins.

They also urge the authorities to replace the damaged vehicles and ensure proper door-to-door garbage collection.

The solid waste management (SWM) of at least 10 zones have been handed over to the private contractor, and the Corporation has planned to outsource SWM for the remaining zones. The tender has been floated for the same recently. As of now, the local body maintains SWM in Tondiarpet (Zone 4) where residents fume over irregularities in waste collection and damaged equipment.

“The battery-operated vehicles don’t have proper bins. They’re overloaded, which leads to spilling. Workers don’t wear safety gears while collecting garbage. Also, door-to-door garbage collection has been done only on alternative days and there are no dustbins on the street,” elaborated M Shanmugam, a resident of Perumal Koil Street, Tondiarpet.

The lack of a proper depot for recharging the battery is one of the main reasons vehicles are parked on the roadside near Ward 48 office. “Due to lack of parking facilities, the Corporation’s loud speakers were stolen from the vehicles, which were damaged and not yet replaced,” lamented R Ramesh, a resident of Old Washermenpet. “Many damaged vehicles lie idle at every ward office. Manpower shortage has also delayed garbage collection and cleaning in the area.”

When contacted, a senior official with Tondiarpet said: “The damaged vehicles will be replaced. We’ve ensured that workers collect garbage regularly. Also, an on-spot penalty has been imposed against violators in the area.”