Fuel stations stop diesel supply to garbage-lifting vehicles, locals fume
Heaps of garbage strewn around various dumping yards is once again posing health problems for residents as local fuel stations have stopped supplying fuel to the vehicles of A2Z group, which is responsible for removing it. The company has not been provided fuel for the past two days as it has failed to clear its pending dues amounting to Rs 1.5 crore.
Heaps of garbage strewn around various dumping yards is once again posing health problems for residents as local fuel stations have stopped supplying fuel to the vehicles of A2Z group, which is responsible for removing it.
The company has not been provided fuel for the past two days as it has failed to clear its pending dues amounting to Rs 1.5 crore.
Though the municipal corporation deployed teams to ensure lifting of garbage from dumps near Khalsa College for Women and on roads from where ‘rath yatra’ will pass by on Sunday, several unattended bins were seen full of overflowing garbage.
Accusing the municipal corporation (MC) of failing to pay them their pending dues amounting to more than Rs 5 crore, the authorities of A2Z group claimed that they were unable to pay Rs 1.5 crore to the fuel stations due to which they stopped supply.
The local fuel stations had stopped supply on Friday and the problem continued till Saturday.
Meanwhile, the MC has issued a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to A2Z group but the company officials claimed that vehicles could return to roads only after they got payment in their accounts.
BPS Chauhan, vice-president of A2Z group, said: “The civic body has not paid our pending dues of more than Rs 5 crore. Now; the MC has issued a cheque for Rs 25 lakh but the vehicles can return to roads only after we get the amount in our bank account. However, we need `1 crore urgently to pay salaries to our employees.”
“We’ll be able to pay to fuel stations only after we get our pending dues from MC,” Chauhan said.
When contacted, Amarjit Singh Sekhon, chief of MC’s health and sanitation wing, said: “The matter has been resolved and A2Z vehicles have started plying to lift garbage after we paid the required amount.”
Sekhon claimed that the MC teams would be working during procession of Jagannath yatra on Sunday to ensure cleanliness, adding that there would not be any problem of lifting of garbage, he added.