Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Public apathy defeats conservancy measures

V.S. Palaniappan

Public apathy defeats conservancy measures Door-to-door collection fails to pick up

SCANT REGARD: Ignoring the garbage container, a resident of the Race Course Housing Unit dumps waste on Scheme Road in Coimbatore. - Photo: K. Ananthan

Coimbatore: Despite efforts to keep the city clean, public apathy and lack of cooperation have made some areas remain an eyesore with garbage heaps.

While door-to-door collection of garbage every morning has yielded considerable results in a few wards, the concept has failed to pick up in the rest, say sanitary inspectors.

While the exercise has started making inroads in wards 21 and 22 of the city, it continues to be in its infancy despite its launch a year ago in areas such as Thomas Park Housing Unit in Race Course.

Dumping on streets

Residents say that garbage is not ready when the conservancy worker comes at 7.30 a.m. to collect it. "I am either busy cooking or sending my children to school when the man comes," says Mala, a working woman. So the residents dump garbage on the street. Some of them throw polythene packets containing garbage while driving their way to the office. It remains there till the conservancy workers come to collect it the next day.

Infrastructure problems

Given the infrastructure constraints, it is not possible to keep a container at every 100 feet. But, unfortunately the residents expect containers to be placed everywhere.

The scattered garbage is an invitation for flies, dogs, cats and pigs, leaving the residents at the risk of contracting diseases because of such unhygienic conditions, say sanitary officials. With the given limitations in infrastructure and manpower, one more round of cleaning up in the evening is not possible, they say.

The Health Department of the Corporation works throughout the day to dispose of the garbage generated in 72 wards in the city. And, one more round of cleaning up will lead to the conservancy workers being made to work overtime, they say. Garbage can reach the compost yard at Vellalore only if it is cleared in the morning, they point out.

"I am happy if my house is clean and I don't care if garbage heaps lie on the road" is the attitude of the residents and it defeats the objective of keeping Coimbatore clean, sanitary inspectors say.

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