Cracker waste clogs city drains.The Hindu Tiruchi 31.10 .2016

The Hindu
TIRUCHI, October 31, 2016

Cracker waste clogs city drains

C. JAISANKAR

Overnight rain had also compounded the problem to an extent
An eyesore:Garbage piled up near Angalamman Street in Tiruchi on Sunday.— Photo: B.Velankanni Raj

An eyesore:Garbage piled up near Angalamman Street in Tiruchi on Sunday.— Photo: B.Velankanni Raj

With the huge amount of festival waste, mainly burnt fire crackers strewn across, the Tiruchirappalli City Corporation is struggling to keep the city clean.

Garbage has been piled up in many places including Gandhi Market, a whole sale and retail vegetable market in the city, Big Bazaar, N.S.B. Road, Nandi Koil Street and Singarathope, where a number of commercial establishments are located, leading residential areas such as Thillai Nagar, Woraiyur, Cantonment, Palakkarai, Srirangam, Thiruvanaikoil and others. To make things worse, garbage bins were piled up with excess festival waste right from sweet boxes to plantain leaves and puja items.

Though the Corporation engages conservancy workers the very next day after Deepavali to clean the garbage, not many workers were seen on the streets on Sunday. It was said that the civic body could not employ sufficient workers as the next day of Deepavali happened to be a holiday this year. Moreover, the conservancy workers were yet to come out from the festive mood.

Overnight rain also compounded the problem to an extent. The flowing rain water had carried the garbage, particularly firecracker papers and plastics, to the drainage canals, chocking the free flow of drainage canals.

“Shopkeepers indiscriminately dump the waste on streets. The dust bins are overflowing for the last four days with excessive waste, making life difficult for the residents and shoppers,” says K. Venkaresan, a shop keeper at Angalamman temple on Big Bazaar street, pointing to an overflowing garbage bin.

Stressing the importance of expediting the cleaning operation, M.A. Aleem, former Vice Principal of K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College, said that the meteorological department has predicted more rain for the next few days.

Hence, it was necessary to carry out cleaning work on a war footing. The entire waste generated during the festival season should be cleaned within a day. Clean and neat city would keep the citizens disease-free during the rainy season.

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