Kolkata, Jan. 31 -- The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will procure 90 new compactors in two phases for more effective solid waste management (SWM) in the city. Presently, KMC has 70 movable compactors.
Many of the existing compactors in the city have reached the end of their 10-year lifespan and are in urgent need of replacement, according to a source in the SWM department of the KMC.
"A compactor is effective for a period of 10 years, and presently a good number of these machines are unable to yield desired results as they have completed 10 years. We have decided to purchase 90 new compactors," said Debabrata Majumdar, who heads the SWM department of KMC.
During the monthly meeting, Rupak Ganguly, councillor of Ward No. 121, Behala, pointed out that the absence of a compactor in his ward has been posing problems in garbage disposal.
He claimed that an organisation has allotted land to the KMC for setting up a compactor station on Raja Rammohan Roy Road and wanted to know when the compactor will be launched.
Majumder clarified that 67 compactors will be purchased in the first phase and 23 in the second. The tender has been floated. Behala's compactor station will start as soon as the first phase of procurement is over.
The compactor stations and movable compactors have helped eradicate open vats in a majority of wards across Kolkata. Movable compactors also ensure odour-free and spill-free transportation of garbage from compactor stations to Dhapa.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.