Project to make city litter-free kicks off

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 6

With the much-awaited solid waste management project finally seeing light of the day, residents of the city have heaved a sigh of relief. The holy city would be litter free now, claimed Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi during the launch of the door-to-door collection of garbage yesterday.

Garbage collection had become the bane of the city of Golden Temple, which not only brought bad repute but also turned its atmosphere unhygienic and increased pollution. The monsoons have added to the woes of the residents as foul smell spread all over the area from the wet garbage piles that dot every nook and corner of the city. The situation turned worse in the walled city.

Under the project, the city is divided into two parts. The walled city would be looked after by the Municipal Corporation while the responsibility of garbage collection from rest of the city would remain with the private firm engaged by the MC. Mumbai-based Essell group, in collaboration with Japanese firm, Hitachi, would be setting up the solid waste management plant on the 25-acre Bhagtanwala garbage dump land which has been leased for 25 years to the firm. The plant would process the garbage and produce power and manufacture manure from it.

Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said the company would distribute two dustbins each to around two lakh residential complexes in the city in which dry and wet garbage would be collected separately. He said this work would take around 15 days. The garbage would be collected from door to door with the help of 234 hoopers which would take it to the secondary collection point. From secondary collection point it would be taken to the dump with the help of 48 compactors and six dumpers.

Arora said the MC had arranged enough funds to provide to the firm for the project for the next two years. He said the company would charge Rs 30 from each house for the collection of garbage while from slum areas, the garbage would be collected free of cost.