MADURAI: Even as residents bear the brunt of irregular door-to-door garbage collection and open dumping, sanitation workers and corporation officials blame each other for lapses in solid waste management.
To promote door-to-door waste collection, the corporation removed garbage bins from the roadsides across the city. However, due to erratic doorstep collection, people are forced to dump garbage in open spaces. "For instance, three bins were removed from the Aruppukottai main road. Since door-to-door collection is not carried out on a daily basis, people are forced to dump waste along the road," said M. Murugesan, a resident of Avaniyapuram.
Sanitation workers and trade unions cite staff shortage and excessive workload for the situation. S. Boominathan, trade union leader of the Labour Liberation Front (LLF) affiliated to the VCK , said labour shortage was a major issue.
"On an average, a ward should have at least 70 sanitation workers, but less than 40 are available currently. Retired workers are not replaced, and the vacancies add to workload of the existing staff," he said.
Further, he reasoned that closure of garbage transit centres has worsened the situation. "Workers have to travel to the Vellakkal dump yard to dispose of waste. One trip takes several hours, often stretching into the afternoon, which affects door-to-door collection work. At least the number of roadside bins should be increased to ease the burden," he added.
Corporation officials reject the charges and state the government has put in place adequate infrastructure. A senior corporation officer said nearly 450 light commercial vehicles (LCVs), each capable of collecting waste from about 800 households, are operated in the city. "Each ward has around 15 bins with capacity of 750 kg each, and on average, a ward generates nearly 5,000 kg of waste daily. In Zones 4 and 5, waste is directly transported to Vellakkal," the official said.
The official blamed inconsistent performance by sanitation workers in some wards for delay in door-to-door collection, which, according to him, leads to open dumping. "By streamlining door-to-door collection, open dumping can be effectively addressed. Action is being taken to improve efficiency," he added.
As part of technological interventions, the corporation has installed 25 AI-enabled cameras near bins across the city. Alerts are sent to sanitation officials based on bin fill levels to ensure timely clearance. An application is currently under development to support the system, while electricity connections are awaited for installing 35 more AI cameras, sources said.