Despite warning to waste collection firm, garbage lifting still tardy in Amritsar

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, February 11

Though the Municipal Corporation Commissioner issued instructions to take action against the solid waste management firm, there has been no improvement in functioning of the company.

The condition of sanitation is getting deteriorated in the city with each passing day. Heaps of garbage are visible everywhere in the city.

In 2016, the municipal Corporation (MC) had signed a contract with a private company for door-to-door lifting of garbage, removal of waste from roadside collection points, bioremediation of legacy waste at the dumping site in Bhagtanwala and setting up of a waste to energy generation plant there.

But the MC miserably failed to accomplish all these tasks. Initially, the firm collected waste from door-to-door. Later, garbage collection vehicles started developing snags.

The company owns more than 260 garbage collection vehicles out of which many are lying defunct. The company has added some new vehicles to its fleet, but their number is far less than defunct vehicles. Less than 200 garbage collection vehicles are in working condition. A number of compactors are also lying defunct. Due to tardy garbage collection, people dump their waste on roadsides. Company officials claimed that the MC had not increased the charges for lifting garbage since the start of the service. The diesel cost had increased, but the MC was paying the same amount as it was in 2016, they said. The company was unable to add new vehicles for garbage lifting to its fleet due to financial crunch, they said.