Citizen Connect: Garbage piles up due to shortage of sanitary workers in Pallavaram Municipality

Piling up of garbage on the streets is a huge concern for the residents of Pallavaram and its surrounding areas. The situation has worsened in the recent times due to the acute shortage of conservancy staff in the Pallavaram Municipality.

The situation, which has been persisting for more than a week now, has exacerbated the condition of basic sanitation and hygiene in the locality. After noticing that the garbage was not cleared, the residents raised a complaint with the authorities concerned five days ago.

The president of Federation of Pallavaram Residents Welfare Association, V Santhanam, said, “During a recent meet, the local body commissioner confirmed that the shortage of staff led to the current situation. The existing contractor was terminated without making any alternative arrangements.” We have made several representations with the Pallavaram Municipality, who are yet to take any steps to solve the problem, he added.

The garbage is not cleared every day. The increase in the interval between garbage clearance days is the cause for streets being dotted with garbage piles. Also, the public have also started dumping waste wherever they find space. We want the municipality to take up this issue with utmost priority and sort it out at the earliest, said a residentof Chromepet.

“Workers from Andhra Pradesh will arrive soon to tackle the staff shortage. Till then, the existing conservancy workers are carrying out the regular chores round-the-clock,” claimed officials.

The rising mounds of waste has affected the normal lives of people for the past one week. At least, the Municipality should have informed the public about the existing situation and the reason behind it, said working president of the Nallappa Residents Welfare Association.

“We are attempting to make alternate arrangements to solve the problem. The situation will be resolved soon as the local body is expected to award work order to a potential contractor to collect waste. The whole process will be streamlined to ensure seamless flow of activities,” said a top official attached to thecivic body.