TIRUMALA: Tirupati district administration has launched a large-scale legacy waste clearance and beautification drive across gram panchayats surrounding the temple town to restore its sanctity, which draws 1.22 lakh devotees daily.
District Collector S Venkateswar is leading the campaign, with execution by the District Panchayat Raj Department.
District Panchayat Officer Suseela Devi said workers have cleared between 12,000 and 15,000 tonnes of decades-old waste from various locations. The cleared waste was sent to recycling units, fire kilns, brick manufacturers, and cement mudbrick industries.
In Tiruchanoor, the largest gram panchayat near Tirupati, officials removed 2,700 to 3,000 tonnes of garbage dumped over 30 years. Peruru saw the clearance of 1,296 tonnes, Lingeswar Nagar gram panchayat had 725 tonnes of legacy waste and 100 tonnes of construction debris cleared, and Ramireddypalli in Chandragiri mandal had 1,024 tonnes removed. Authorities fenced off the cleared site near a university.
In Narayanavanam mandal, 1,580 tonnes of garbage are being cleared from the riverbanks of Narayanavanam gram panchayat. In Padmavathipuram under Tirupati Rural mandal, officials are removing 1,250 tonnes, with completion expected by the end of the month. Suseela Devi said, “We are surveying other gram panchayats to identify legacy waste sites. Our aim is to finish the work by October.”
The administration promotes sustainability by converting wet waste into vermicompost and implementing door-to-door collection in 200 gram panchayats.