COIMBATORE: Acting on concerns over the slow progress of bio-mining operations at the Vellalore dumpyard, Tamil Nadu Minister for Prohibition and Excise K Vignesh, along with Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja, inspected the facility on Saturday and directed officials concerned to expedite the ongoing works.
The inspection comes days after TNIE's report on June 17, titled "Deadline nears, but Vellalore's garbage mountains refuse to shrink", highlighted the sluggish pace of the Phase-II bio-mining project, the breakdown of one of the bio-mining machines, and the hardships faced by residents living near the dumpyard due to the delay in the clearing of legacy waste.
During the visit, Minister Vignesh reviewed various operations at the dumpyard, including the composting centre, waste segregation facility and the progress of bio-mining activities. Officials briefed him on the status of the project and the challenges being faced on the ground.
Earlier, TNIE reported that one of the four bio-mining machines had been defunct for some time, and the remaining ones were processing waste at a slower rate, raising concerns about meeting the project deadline. Following the inspection on Saturday, the minister and the commissioner instructed officials to immediately repair the non-functional machine and accelerate the processing of accumulated waste.
A senior CCMC official told TNIE, "Based on the direction from the minister and commissioner, efforts are under way to repair the fourth machine and bring it back into operation. We expect it to become functional by next week," adding that the civic body has been directed to ensure that the second phase of the project concludes by December.
Senior corporation officials, including Chief Engineer Vijayakumar, Assistant Commissioner Dakshinamoorthy, City Health Officer Dr Subash Gandhi, and other engineering and sanitation personnel, accompanied the minister.
