TIRUPPUR: The Tiruppur City Municipal Corporation is scheduled to open a solid waste management park with a handling capacity of about 200 tons this month itself. However, Mayor N Dinesh Kumar refused to disclose its location fearing protests and citing local political opposition.
The mayor told TNIE that both dry and wet waste would be converted into value-added items at this park.
"We are continuously taking necessary steps to properly manage the garbage generated in Tiruppur. As part of it, we will open a solid waste management park with a capacity of 200 tons by the end of January. Machines and equipment have been purchased from Germany and from other states, including Gujarat and Maharashtra, for conversion of dry and wet waste into value-added items at this park. The park won't pose any environmental harm. This science-based centre which will be beneficial to students."
He also stated that the distribution of 10-litre capacity dustbins has begun for household waste segregation, for which 70,000 dustbins have been procured at an estimated cost of Rs 1.05 crore.
Speaking to TNIE, Mayor Dinesh Kumar said that these dustbins will be distributed to about 3 lakh households. "We have already provided dustbins to about 70,000 households. The next batch of dustbins is expected after Pongal. We plan to complete the task of distributing dustbins to 3 lakh households by the end of January. Subsequently, garbage bins will be removed from public places by the beginning of February.
"One of our goals is to make Tiruppur a city without garbage bins. Thereafter, discarding garbage in public places will be controlled through strict actions. To monitor this, we have currently placed AI cameras in 165 locations. We will soon be expanding this to 600 locations," the Mayor said.
The city has 3,15,732 households and commercial establishments. Around 573 tonnes of garbage are collected daily in the 60 wards. A major part of this used to be dumped in abandoned stone quarries in Mudalipalayam and Nallur villages in Tiruppur. But the Madras High Court has imposed a ban on this following a petition filed by P Velusamy, President of PAP Vellakoil Branch Canal Water Conservation Movement.
The court has however given permission to temporarily store the garbage in a vacant land owned by the Corporation in Iduvai village. Apart from the garbage that goes to the MCCs, others are handled there, sources said.
Recently, Corporation Commissioner MP Amith filed an affidavit in the High Court stating various solid waste management measures. To ensure 100% source segregation, 60 ward-level officers and 12 monitoring officers have been appointed. Additionally, 10 Sanitary Inspectors and 2 Sanitary Officers from neighbouring Corporations have been deputed to Tiruppur to streamline solid waste management activities.