Kaanum Pongal revellers litter beaches with 20.5 tonnes of garbage

Data provided by the Chennai Corporation revealed that solid waste amounting to 15 tonnes was removed from Marina Beach in the cleaning drive that began on Thursday night and continued to Friday afternoon. “Nearly 5.5 tonnes of solid waste was cleared from the sands of Elliot’s beach in Besant Nagar,” stated the press release from the Chennai Corporation.

As per an estimation made by the police, over 1 lakh people visited the Marina beach on Thursday, Kaanum Pongal day, while Elliot’s beach recorded a footfall of around 5,000 persons.

The release added that as many as 125 conservancy workers were deployed on a shift-basis on Marina Beach and 35 workers engaged in cleaning up Elliot’s Beach. “The garbage generated during Pongal is being removed in war-footing,” said a Chennai Corporation official.

However, on the same day, the civic body had collected 4,610 tonnes of garbage from Chennai streets against the daily average collection of 5,100 tonnes. The necessary steps have beentaken to replace damaged garbage bins across the city, he added.

As many as 48,318 persons in the city have downloaded the Swachhata App, which is developed to send complaints pertaining to the solid waste management. Over 18,528 complaints which were received through the application have been rectified, the Corporation release detailed.