Chennai: About 30 tonnes of solid wastes were collected from the shores of the Pattinapakkam beach on Monday, a day after hundreds of giant Vinayaka idols were immersed along the coast.
Idols from various parts of the city were brought to the sea for immersion on Saturday and Sunday, which left the coastline full of garbage.
More than 60 workers were involved in clearing the debris around the area. The clean up activity came to an end by evening. Thirty workers employed with a private firm, which manages solid wastes for the civic body, along with 30 corporation staff, were deployed for the cleaning activity.
“Men were put to work by late Sunday immediately after the immersion was over. Areas including Pattinapakkam, Srinivasa Nagar, parts of Canal Bank Road had more wastes following the festival,” said Venkatesan, general manager of Ramkey Enviro.
“These wastes cannot be segregated unlike those collected during Pongal festival as all the wastes are wet and mixed with clay and had to be directly dumped in the Perungudi dump yards,” he added.
Venkatesan said that Pongal generated more waste as the festival extended for four days, which produced 15 tonnes of garbage. Though the waste collected during previous year’s Ganesh Chaturthi also neared the 30 tonne mark, Venkatesh says that in the long run, a marginal increase in solid waste production can be seen. “People celebrate more, hence generate more waste,” he added.
A corporation official in Pattinapakkam said that corporation sweepers were also involved in cleaning up the beaches. “A large part of the garbage is bio-degradable waste as the use of plaster of paris in creating the idols has been strictly banned,” the official added. An official with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board said that the board collects samples from the coastline and sends a report to the National Green Tribunal. “We send a report based on the samples collected before and after the festival. Action will be taken based on the NGT’s directives,” he said.
