Pongal leaves behind tonnes of waste in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Pongal celebrations have left behind a huge volume of waste in the city, adding more burden on corporation health officials and conservancy workers, who have been working to clear the same.
Pegging the average collection of waste at 1,000 tonnes to 1,200 tonnes on a normal day, a corporation official said around 1,100 tonnes of additional waste was collected in the past three days. The drive began on Saturday, he said.
“We have collected most of the garbage that was generated during the Pongal. Some areas are yet to be covered. All the waste will be removed by Wednesday. The workload is too heavy, as we have to clear the additional waste along with the regular garbage with the same workforce and machinery,” he said.
The city residents had, meanwhile, handed over 117 tonnes of waste to corporation workers during Bhogi festival after the civic body set up centres to collect the same across its five zones to ensure a smoke-free celebration.
The civic body had set up 30 collection points across the city to receive the waste that the residents were planning to burn as part of Bhogi festival. Corporation workers said the waste they received mostly comprised old mattresses, mats, dresses and doormats.
Corporation councillors and employees had earlier created awareness among the residents about the collection points and the need to celebrate Bhogi festival in an environment friendly manner.
A corporation health official said the air pollution levels would have gone up had the residents set the 117 tonnes of waste, which the civic body collected, on fire. It would also have caused breathing difficulties among the elderly and ailing ones, he said. Waste that was collected was safely disposed of at Vellalore dump yard.
“Most of the waste was received from the commercial areas in the central and west zones, and the residential areas in and around Gandhipuram,” he said.