E-Paper
Ludhiana: Survey raises questions over door-to-door waste collection
As per the initial findings of a micro survey in Ludhiana 1,609 garbage/waste collectors are informally involved in the door-to-door lifting of garbage in 1,678 mohallas/colonies with 2,56,765 households and 61,077 commercial/industrial establishments in various parts of the city
Raising questions over door-to-door garbage collection in the city, the initial findings of a micro survey conducted in the city showed that 1,609 garbage/waste collectors are informally involved in the door-to-door lifting of garbage in 1,678 mohallas/colonies with 2,56,765 households and 61,077 commercial/industrial establishments in various parts of the city.
However, only 82 garbage collectors are involved in the process in areas falling under Zone C of the MC having 143 colonies/mohallas with 42,088 houses and 11,453 commercial and industrial establishments. Further, 644 collectors are involved in areas falling under Zone D having 588 colonies with 81,364 houses and 9,688 commercial/industrial units.
In Zone A, 505 collectors are involved in door-to-door lifting in 505 mohallas having 56,496 houses and 22,874 commercial units. Similarly, in Zone B, 434 collectors are involved in 442 mohallas/colonies with 76,817 houses and 17,062 commercial/industrial units.
One of the officials requesting anonymity said the MC had commenced the survey in August and the purpose of conducting it was to find out the missing points due to which the door-to-door lifting was not done in the entire city on a daily basis. Surprising revelations have come to the fore as only 82 garbage collectors are involved in Zone C area door-to-door lifting of garbage in 53,541 houses/commercial units. This means every collector is picking waste from around 650 units, which seems practically impossible. Further, the number of garbage collectors is also less than the total number of colonies/mohallas in the city.
This shows that the waste is not being collected from houses on a daily basis and there are loopholes in the system.
Residents had been complaining about the delayed lifting of garbage from their houses in the past and the garbage was collected after an interval of a few days. Due to this, residents also dump the waste in open plots/areas and drains, the official said.
Ankur Mahindroo, joint commissioner, MC, said the survey had been conducted to streamline the lifting process. These were the initial findings and detailed verification was being done.
“The aim is to depute collectors in a way that all areas are covered on a daily basis. Changes will be done in the coming time to distribute areas among the collectors. But the informal sector will not be disturbed and the MC is working to involve them with the civic body only, as done in Chandigarh. The report will be tabled in front of senior officials and further steps will be taken to improve the system,” he added.
