Tiruvannamalai to be free of garbage dump yard in six months

Talking to DT Next, Kandasamy said, “the machinery was purchased from Ireland six months ago but operations were delayed due to the pandemic related lockdown. The bio miner is mounted on tracks and hence can move to the required spot in the dump yard will clear 500 cubic metre per day.”

The equipment was purchased as part of the Rs 3.60 crore sanctioned by the Tamil Nadu government’s 7th high powered committee for the total eradication of garbage in the temple town, officials added.

Officials added that the waste would be segregated into usable soil which based on quality would be offered to farmers while bad quality soil would be used for landfills and for leveling the ground where ever necessary. Flammable material including cloth and plastic would be diverted to either sugar or cement mills for use in their boilers.

However, by a quirk of fate the equipment which reached Chennai Port was rerouted back to Ireland and hence had to be brought back to Chennai before it could be routed to Tiruvannamalai town.

“The town’s 39 wards generate 60 tonnes garbage daily which increases to between 120 tonnes to 270 tonnes during the town’s main ‘Karthigai Deepam’ festival in November and during the main ‘Chitra Pournami’ and the monthly pournami when lakhs of devotees congregate to participate in the 14 kilometre long girivalam,” Kandasamy added.

With garbage segregation already in vogue in the local body, once the dump yard was cleared and put to other use garbage disposal would be based solely on segregation, Kandasamy added.

Asked if similar machinery would be provided to other local bodies, the Collector said “they do not have issues in garbage segregation as the volume of garbage generated is very less.”