Hyderabad: On any given day at the Charminar, an adopted swachh iconic site, the quantam of waste generated is around five tonnes, littered by those visiting the area and hawkers, The waste generated doubles on weekends, according to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials.
Although the Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) has gathered pace and the GHMC and city traffic cops, shifting hawkers and pushcarts from the area giving the monument its much-deserved look, the problem of littering prevails.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Mr Mohammed Musharraf Ali Farooqi, CPP in-charge officer, said that the main problems surrounding the CPP plastic generated and the reluctance of the hawkers to move. To tackle the plastic menace, two teams of 15 sweepers have been deployed to clear the litter. While the morning team operates from 6 am to 1pm, and the second team from 2pm to 9pm.
The GHMC has appealed to the visitors to Charminar to use the dust bins and vendors will be asked to stop selling food in plastic bags. “The GHMC is looking at a plastic free city by 2020. First, fresh plastic usage would be stopped and the existing usage will be reduced. Bins were given to hawkers and shopkeepers to encourage bin usage, so that plastic and other waste generated goes into the bins. Our goal is to avoid littering around Charminar. We need to ensure plastic usage is reduced, but that takes time,” Mr Farooqui said.
Officially, there are 421 hawkers in and around Charminar and they are going to be shiftted soon. Although the hawkers are being evacuated by the traffic policefrom time to time, they return soon.
Speaking about the hawkers, Mr Farooqi said, “Once the hawkers bridge proposal is ready, tenders will be called for and implementing agency will be finalised. This bridge will have a similar design as of Purana pul. The present design would accommodate 800 hawkers, and they will be allotted places according to the items they sell.”
