Kolkata: In a bid to further improve the solid waste management system in the city, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is planning to procure about 300 battery-operated vehicles for waste collection.
During the inauguration of a modern scientific waste compactor station in Ward 91, Mayor Firhad Hakim said that people need to realise the hazards of chucking waste in the open. He said that in a bid to keep the city clean and green, the KMC is working towards further improvement of its solid waste management but citizens too need to be more aware.
Hakim said that the compactor stations have today replaced open vats in the city which is a considerable achievement by the civic body but warned against chucking wastes in plastics which often leads to choking of the gully pits which in turn lead to waterlogging.
The Mayor said that he has received a proposal to procure more 300 battery-operated vehicles which will be engaged in collection of wastes. The decision was taken considering a shortage of such vehicles which collect both bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes. This is after the KMC has laid emphasis on segregation of waste. Such vehicles can also enter narrow lanes with ease, it was learnt. It collects the wastes in the early morning.
Alongside, the civic body is also distributing bins of two colours for segregation of wet and dry wastes. The blue bins are for non-bio-degradable waste and the green ones for biodegradable wastes.
However, the KMC has also received complaints that in several areas, segregation rules are not being followed and instead the bins are being used for other purposes. The civic body is also deciding to take action against such complaints against individual cases.