VELLORE: In a bid to improve the solid waste management in the city, the Vellore corporation has recently identified dry quarries to dump silt from open drains.
K Sivakumar, sanitary officer of zones 1 and 2, said that quarries have been allocated for all four zones of the city. “A quarry is chosen behind the VIT University for zones 1 and 2 and for zones 3 and 4, we will use quarries in Otteri and Ariyur respectively,” he said.
The civic body is also in the process of selecting an incinerator near its Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) in Viruthampattu, to manage non-biodegradable waste like napkins, adult diapers, thermocols, etc.
At present, Vellore Corporation does not have a dumpyard to dispose these waste. They are kept in 50 compost yards - decentralised waste management units which are present for segregating and composting the garbage generated across all the 60 wards in the district.
Vellore Corporation Commissioner, P Janaki Raveendran, said, “The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had given permission to establish the incinerator in August 2023. Following this, we have sent the machine’s design to Anna University’s Centre for Environmental Studies, to check if it is according to the permissible standards. It will become functional once TNPCB gives us permission to operate.”
At some of the yards, like in Sathuvachari, a huge pile of waste has accumulated over the past two months. Furthermore, the tree branches are left unattended on roadsides. The corporation started facing these problems after its dumpyard in Saduperi, which was used for over 100 years, had to be closed in 2018, following an order from the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal. The order came after residents complained of health issues and expressed concern over the garbage polluting a nearby lake.
Meanwhile, clearing the garbage accumulated in open drains continues to be a problem. This is because corporation workers remove the silt and garbage, including plastic bottles, and bags and leave it to dry at roadsides for two or three days. But, the waste reaches back to the drain due to rain or wind. “It is a challenge as there is no other space to dry the waste,” Vellore City Health Officer, Dr S R Ganesh said.
The commissioner expressed hope that the problem will be solved once the construction of underground drainage across the district is completed. “It is expected to be completed by September. The public should also cooperate with us and start taking responsibility instead of casually flinging garbage on the road,” she reiterated.