Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) conservancy workforce has collected 37,511 tonnes of waste since December 6. GCC data shows the quantum of waste generated per day is 2,500 tonnes more than what is normally collected in the city.
Out of this, around 32,831 tonnes of waste material comprises beds, furniture and clothes which are likely to end up in landfills. Another 4,680 tonnes of waste, which consists of fallen trees and branches that were cleared, will be stored in lands which the corporation is yet to identify, said J Radhakrishnan, Commissioner of GCC.
A conservancy worker in Thiru-Vi-Ka-Nagar said usually they encourage people to segregate waste or try to do it themselves when they go for collection in Battery Operated Vehicles (BOVs). “Because of floods, people have lost everything and they have dumped them in the nearest waste bins. The amount of waste generated is so high that we cannot sit and segregate now. The priority is to clean the bins out soon because they are overflowing,” said the worker while helping to load waste into a lorry which would dump it in Kodungaiyur yard.
Chinnaponnu, another conservancy worker, said the workload has increased but that she doesn’t mind it. “Everyone is struggling and we are doing our part to help. There are 10 others who have come from other districts to help us out in this zone and that has helped reduce our workload,” she said. Around 16,000 conservancy workers of GCC along with 2,500 workers brought in from other districts of Tamil Nadu are engaged in solid waste removal work post the cyclone Michaung.
Many conservancy workers were absent initially since water had flooded their homes too. However, citing their work upon returning, Radhakrishnan in a press statement said, “I am beyond grateful for the work that conservancy workers are carrying out because under these very challenging times, they are clearing out the waste that people are dumping in huge quantities, without taking a break.”
The Corporation is now taking vehicles on rent to collect waste as it has lost several BOVs to flooding. GCC was using 4,834 BOVs and 135 compactors to clear and transport waste. The Corporation has sourced 41 vehicles from the engineering department while close to 800 vehicles have been taken on rent.