Civic employees work overnight for cleanliness

SURAT: Employees of health department of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) along with safai karamcharis worked all night to ensure that the Diamond City was clean of waste by Friday morning. It was a big challenge for them because solid waste was likely to increase by 500 metric tonnes after the conclusion of immersion ritual of Lord Ganesha’s idols, yet they took up the challenge. The city on a normal day generates 2,000 metric tonnes of solid waste. Waste in huge quantity lay strewn everywhere as several lakhs of people had poured on to the roads to bid adieu to Lord Ganesha on Thursday.
Official sources said around 2,500 safai karamcharis and health workers were engaged in the clean up operation in the city. The cleaning exercise was being supervised by deputy health officer in the seven municipal zones.
Most of the waste of plastic wrappers, plastic bags, flowers was collected from Rajmarg between Mahidharpura and Chowk Bazaar and Chowk Bazaar to Hodi Bungalow and Nanpura. Other areas where safai karamcharis put up extra efforts were Athwalines, Parle Point, Piplod, Gaurav Path, Magdalla, Majura Gate, Ring Road, Majura Gate, Adajan, Pal, Katargam and Varachha.
Dr Ashish Naik, deputy commissioner of health and hospital, told TOI, “Health officials of all the municipal zones were in the field to monitor the cleanliness work once the immersion event got over. The entire city will be cleaned up by Friday morning.”
EH Pathan, solid waste manager of SMC, told TOI, “Movement of transportation vehicles for collection of solid waste was hampered as majority of roads were shut due to immersion procession. The collection work started late at night.”