GUNTUR: In an ambitious push to enhance urban cleanliness, the Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has launched a 90-day special sanitation drive aimed at tackling the city’s persistent waste management and sanitation challenges. This initiative underscores the importance of collaboration between residents and municipal staff as Guntur, one of Andhra Pradesh’s largest cities, strives to achieve a cleaner, healthier environment.
Guntur has made strides in waste management, but key areas continue to grapple with overflowing garbage, clogged drains, and stagnant water, particularly during the rainy season. Residents in neighbourhoods such as AT Agraharam, Market Road, Old Guntur Road, Arundalpet, Brodipet, and various parts of Guntur East express ongoing frustration over these issues. Local resident K Padma from AT Agraharam voiced her concerns about the persistent problem of garbage piles around bins, stating, “Even though sanitation staff come daily to collect waste, the garbage often ends up on the roadside, and bins are rarely cleaned.”
GMC Commissioner P Srinivasulu outlined the city’s action plan, explaining that over 2.5 lakh households have been divided into 786 micro-units, with two sanitation workers assigned to each unit to ensure door-to-door waste collection. GMC officials report that the city generates approximately 450 metric tonnes of garbage daily, with an average of 1.8 kg produced per household. Chief Medical Officer of Health Sobha Rani added that around 1,960 sanitation workers cover 150 square kilometers, utilising 350 pushcarts, 80 electric autos, and other equipment to handle the large-scale waste collection.
The collected waste is sent to transit points at Ponnur Road and Etukuru Road, with about 360 metric tonnes of dry waste sent to the Jindal power plant in Naidupet and 60 metric tonnes of wet waste directed to composting facilities. However, officials acknowledge occasional service disruptions due to vehicle breakdowns, which create minor delays in garbage transportation.
To address this, GMC plans to increase transit points and ensure swift waste transfer from all city divisions.Further steps in the sanitation drive include appointing nodal officers for each division and employing over 190 environmental and sanitation officers at the ward level to ensure 100% waste segregation.
The initiative will also include awareness campaigns to educate citizens on waste segregation and discourage littering through public announcements and media outreach.
In response to resident complaints about unsanitary vacant lots with stagnant water and overgrown vegetation, GMC has urged landowners to maintain their properties or face additional levies.
However, residents such as P Usha Kaivalya at AT Agraharam say the situation remains challenging, noting that weed growth and stagnant water quickly return despite temporary cleanup efforts by property owners. “We urge officials to find a permanent solution,” she said.