VIJAYAWADA: At a time when Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is mobilizing efforts to improve garbage segregation in the city by distributing different coloured bins to residents to separate dry and wet wastes, shortage of sanitation staff is holding back the civic body from implementing the initiative effectively at the ground level.The public health department of VMC had mooted the initiative to achieve Swachh Vijayawada and started distributing coloured bins for segregating dry and wet waste generated from households. This increased the burden on the sanitation staff who have been left in the lurch as neither their fellow colleagues assist them, nor are there enough sanitation staff.
Daily 550 metric tonnes of garbage is generated in the city of which 300 metric tonnes is generated directly from households and dumped into dumper bins on the streets. There is a dearth of sanitation staff to collect garbage generated from the households and commercial establishments in the city.
‘’On one hand, Vijayawada is being developed on par with the State capital Amaravati. Unfortunately, there are not enough sanitation staff to maintain a clean and hygienic atmosphere in the city. Close to 400 sanitation staff will be on leave per day due to various reasons. The remaining staff are finding it difficult to exercise their duties with increasing work burden due to lack of sanitation staff,’’ said M David, Municipal Corporation Employees Union State leader.
Admitting that the city is plagued by poor sanitation, VMC Health Officer Dr. Babu Srinivasan said that the civic body is exploring all possibilities to hand over sanitation maintenance to a private consultant, following the guidelines of government order 279. A survey has already been launched by a private consultant to classify the city into residential, commercial and industrial zones to know the status of garbage generated in the city per day.
‘’The civic body is contemplating to again recruit 250 sanitation staff, to make up for those who quit their jobs due to various personal and health issues. The matter has been taken to the notice of municipal commissioner J Nivas. As of now, a team of officials are scrutinizing the applications from the sanitation staff. Soon, they will be recruited and posted at various sanitation divisions of the city,’’ said Srinivasan.