The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Garbage piles up on Velampalayam streets

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Thursday, Apr 10, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Garbage piles up on Velampalayam streets

M. Gunasekaran

Municipal chairman blames it on shortage of sanitary workers

Photo: M. Balaji

Unpleasant sight: Garbage greets residents along the busy Velampalayam Main Road on the outskirts of Tirupur. –

TIRUPUR: Residents of Velampalayam Grade-III Municipality on the outskirts of Tirupur are disappointed over the delay in removing garbage from their streets. Piles of garbage can be seen on every street in the town, which shares border with the knitwear city of Tirupur.

The residents complain that the delay in removing the silt from drainage canals lead to the clogging of sewage lines. “The streets are becoming dirty and a foul smell emanates from the piles, as the municipal authorities remove them only once in 10 days,” complains Vijayakumar, a resident of Jeeva Street. He says officials depute workforce only after the councillors or residents complain to the local body, he adds.

Admitting that there has been delay in removing garbage, Municipal Chairman S.P. Mani says it is because of shortage of workforce. He says the local body has managed to keep the town clean with 28 sanitary workers.

“After our repeated appeals the Government has recently sanctioned six more workers to the job but it is hardly sufficient.

We need an additional 60 workers for the task otherwise it will not be possible for the local body to keep the town clean,” he adds.

According to the 2001 census the total population of the municipality is 45,000. But now, Mr. Mani says, the population has touched 2 lakh with thousands of migrant workers settling here.

Mr. Mani says the local body has roped in some self-help groups to remove the garbage and keep the streets clean.

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