MADURAI/DINDIGUL: Amid heavy rain, sanitation workers continued cleaning work in the city on Tuesday. According to corporation officials, 2,672 tonnes of garbage have been collected since October 18 surpassing last year’s record of 1,690 tonnes.
The city generates around 850-900 tonnes of waste daily, but the figure has doubled during the festive season this year as scores of temporary stalls have spuing up in commercial hubs such as Vilakkuthoon and Nethaji Road. On October 20 (Deepavali), the corporation deployed 189 sanitation workers in the four Maasi Streets, Vilakkuthoon, and Nethaji Road, clearing 331 tonnes of waste. The next day, by 2 pm, 2,677 workers removed 607 tonnes from major business areas. The pre-fertival cleanup (October 18-19) accounted for 1,734 tonnes of garbage. In contrast, last year’s two-day drive managed 1,690 tonnes.
A senior official in corporation health department said, “The Deepavali rush not only brings festive cheer to trader but also poses a huge challenge to waste management teams. Our teams worked tirelessly despite the rain to keep the city clean. Although the festival cleanup usually takes about 10 days, this year’s efforts were streamlined to four days through better planning.”
“The streets were almost impassable yesterday. It’s impressive how quickly the teams worked despite the rain,” said Ramesh Kumar, a shopkeeper in Keelavasal. “While the festival season always leaves the city messy, citizens too must take responsibility for proper waste disposal,” he said.
Intermittent rain lashed several parts of Madurai throughout Tuesday, causing waterlogging in low-lying areas such as Thayir Market, Periyar, Thavittu Santhai, Aruppukottai Main Road, and Town Hall Road. Corporation officials said teams were deployed in the affected zones to drain stagnant water and restore normal conditions. Around 350 sanitation workers cleared a total of 240 metric tonnes of garbage, including cracker waste, from the 48 wards of Dindigul corporation over the last two days -- 150 tonnes on Monday and nearly 90 tonnes on Tuesday. A corporation official told the TNIE that the civic body had formed 12 teams of sanitation workers, who were engaged in the work throughout the day on Monday.
