Post-Diwali cleanup poses challenges for sanitary workers in port city

Visakhapatnam: Cleaning the streets in the aftermath of the Diwali celebrations has turned out to be a daunting task for sanitary workers of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC). The revelry with firecrackers on Monday night resulted in a massive spread of waste in the streets.

While the main city roads were cleaned by Monday afternoon, the interior and colony roads presented a grim picture even by the evening on Monday. The remnants of Diwali revelry, including shreds of paper, discarded cartons and the mix of cracker waste were strewn around.

The GVMC sanitary wing staff said, "We had started working from Sunday night itself. There was so much waste, especially on the AU ground where the crackers were sold. The place was messy and it took a lot of time for us to clean the area."

In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, Naresh Kumar, a GVMC official, said, "By Monday afternoon, almost every area was cleaned. Monday was a government holiday and hence the permanent workers didn't turn up for work. We had to rely entirely on contract employees. Almost 48-50 tonnes of cracker waste has been collected this year, a significant increase from the 20-30 tonnes last year."