Noida authority sets July 10 deadline for cleaning of drains

Sanitation contractors in Noida deployed for lifting garbage have also been fined ₹9 lakh over the past three days. Officials said the daily cleaning work was starting very late across the city and waste was also not being picked up on a regular basis in some sectors

The public health department has set a July 10 deadline to complete cleaning of drains before the advent of the monsoon season. Department officials inspected drains across Noida and instructed sanitation contractors to expedite work.

A view of an open drain at Sector 34. There are 102 major drains across Noida. (Sunil Ghosh/ HT)

Officials said that unlike previous years, contractors have been instructed to not leave silt along the roads, but immediately clear it and transport it to the dumping ground in Sector 145. The contractors have also been asked to continue work through the night to ensure timely completion. The work includes cleaning of 102 major drains across sectors and villages in Noida.

“Since Thursday, we had asked the contractors to do the cleaning work on a war-footing. They are working even during the night to ensure that it is completed on time before the monsoon. We are also ensuring that they don’t dump the silt and other waste from the drains along the roads that cause inconvenience to residents,” said principal general manager Rajiv Tyagi, who has recently been handed over the charge of the public health wing of the Noida authority.

Tyagi added that the drain cleaning work is being reviewed daily and the contractors will be penalised if the July 10 deadline is not met.

Last week, Ghaziabad residents had protested against the municipal corporation contractors who had left the silt after cleaning drains along the road for days, which caused an unbearable stench.

Meanwhile, sanitation contractors in Noida deployed for lifting garbage have also been fined ₹9 lakh over the past three days. Officials said the daily cleaning work was starting very late across the city and waste was also not being picked up on a regular basis in some sectors.

The sanitation workers have now been told to ensure that garbage collection vehicles are out on roads by 5am while all staff report to the ground by 7am and the first round of cleaning is over by 9am.

Additionally, an inspection of the authority-run cowshed in Sector 135 was conducted on Sunday. Officials said that to ensure that cow dung at the shelter is better utilised, the authority is in the process of making pots for plants and logs for cremation purposes from cow dung.