Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
In a bid to make the city cleaner and more attractive, the municipal corporation has begun significant investment in solid waste management. A Gujarat-based firm has been awarded the contract for waste collection, while six modern transfer stations are being set up across the city. Of these, work at two locations has reached the final stage. The project, being implemented at a cost of Rs 17 crore, is expected to become operational by the end of April.
Waste collection in the city will now be handled by the Gujarat-based Western Imaginary Company. The firm has introduced 400 large, fully enclosed garbage collection vehicles. A command centre has also been established to monitor these vehicles. Waste collected through these vehicles will be promptly transported to transfer stations, where it will be automatically segregated into wet and dry waste using advanced machinery and transferred into capsule-like modern carriers.
The municipal corporation is developing six transfer stations at Ramanagar, Hudco N-12, Shivajinagar, Kanchanwadi, Chikalthana MIDC and the Central Octroi Naka. However, the Octroi Naka site has since been dropped and will instead be used for vehicle charging facilities. Authorities are currently searching for a suitable site in the Satara–Deolai area. At present, the transfer stations at Ramanagar and N-12 are nearing completion, while civil work at Shivajinagar is almost complete and machinery installation will follow shortly.
The work of installing advanced machinery at these centres has been awarded to a private company. The total cost of setting up these facilities is Rs 17 crore. The new waste collection system will commence once three of the six transfer stations are completed.
Segregated waste collection and transport
At present, the existing contractor, Reddy Company, is not effectively carrying out waste collection. The new company will collect only segregated waste from citizens. This segregated waste will be transported to transfer stations, from where wet and dry waste will be sent separately to processing facilities. The entire process will be carried out using mechanised systems.