HYDERABAD: Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) KT Rama Rao, along with Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi, flagged off 325 of the total 650 new Swachh Auto Tippers (SATs) on Thursday that will be used for garbage collection in Hyderabad.
The 650 new SATs will add to the fleet of 2,500 existing SATs and be provided in all the 30 circles of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
The new SATs have a capacity of 1.5 tonnes, which is higher than the earlier ones that could only contain 850 kg. The SATs are provided with a partition to carry wet and dry waste separately, and a provision to carry hazardous waste.
The procurement of these vehicles is under the driver-cum-owner scheme in which 10 per cent of the SAT’s cost is borne by the beneficiary, who is a rag picker, while the remaining 90 per cent is borne by the GHMC
In the wake of increasing COVID-19 cases in Greater Hyderabad limits, Rama Rao asked GHMC Mayor Vijayalaxmi Gadwal and GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar to take up a special sanitation drive in the city.
Amid concerns of a second wave of Coronavirus, the Minister asked the sanitation workers to work more efficiently as they did during the lockdown last year.
Meanwhile, the Mayor instructed the Assistant Medical Officers of Health (AMOHs) to monitor sanitation and check the hygienic conditions in hotels and restaurants in the city. Gadwal wants to enhance the efficiency of garbage collection in the city.