Highest in 5 years, GCC collects 138 tonnes cracker waste

As per Corporation data, 138.21 tonnes of cracker waste were collected on Thursday and Friday (till noon). The civic body had collected 85 tonnes of cracker waste in 2017 and 95 tonnes in 2018. In 2019, 103 tonnes and in 2020, around 98 tonnes were collected.

“The increasing amount of cracker waste indicates that the city residents have been burning more crackers than previous years. Also, the waste collection mechanism is highly coordinated, which is another reason for more collection,” an official said. The data also showed that more crackers were burst in zones with affluent population; 19.58 tonnes of waste was collected from Teynampet, which is the highest. Similarly, 15.33 tonnes and 14 tonnes of cracker waste were collected in Adyar and Valasaravakkam respectively. Despite being densely populated, Tondiarpet and Royapuram generated lesser cracker waste. The civic body collected only 8.75 and 6.04 tonnes of waste from the north Chennai zones respectively.

“Cracker waste is sent to hazardous waste processing unit in Gummidipoondi for safe disposal. In total, 4,312.40 tonnes of garbage and 499.70 tonnes of construction waste were collected on Thursday. Of the total garbage collected, 454.64 tonnes were sent to processing centres,” a Corporation press release said.

Meanwhile, conservancy contractor Urbaser Sumeet announced a paid family vacation, including flight tickets, for two staff each from Teynampet, Kodambakkam and Adyar zones who worked without leave from November 1 to 7. The winners would be selected by lot, a company official said, adding that the holiday destination has not been finalised.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) observations, beginning on Deepavali day and ending the following day morning, indicated that the air quality status in Chennai is very poor, the government said on Friday.

Also, there was a substantial increase in pollutants in the metropolis when compared to the previous year, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board said.