CLEARING WEEDS: Nearly 220 pourakarmikas of the corporation are engaged in clearing green garbage in Mangalore city. — Photo: R. Eswarraj

MANGALORE: Mangalore has a special place in a botanist's heart. No other city in the country (except in Kerala) boasts of innumerable types of plants, vines, creepers, climbers, grass and ferns growing effortlessly during the monsoon, turning the city green for at least five months in a year.

Although the city turns green after the monsoons solid waste management becomes a problem. During the months of September and October, the Mangalore City Corporation is faced with the daunting task of clearing the green growth and transporting it to the dumping yard at Vamanjoor. The green garbage generated during these two months is to the extent of 1,200 tonnes a fortnight.

In normal circumstances, the city generates about 225 tonnes of solid waste a day, of which 90 per cent is collected. Only 160 tonnes of garbage is regularly cleared and transported. But during September and October the daily collection increases to 500 tonnes a day owing to green garbage clearance.

About 220 pourakarmikas of the corporation and a number of outsourced labourers clear the undergrowth on the sides of the roads and highways passing through the city limits, and in gardens and parks maintained by the corporation and other places where the growth is extensive.

Health department officials said that the clearance was necessary as the growth posed not just a traffic hazard but also gave the city a neglected look. The corporation also spends a fortune on hiring more workers and transport contractors during those two months.

Corporation Commissioner Krishnappa Poojary said the civic body set aside 20 per cent of its budget for solid waste management including green garbage disposal.

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