Civic workers remove 270 tonnes of waste generated on Chitra Pournami in Tiruvannamalai
Tiruvannamalai Corporation officials, who oversaw the massive cleanup effort alongside DRDA, reported that this year's festival generated a record volume of waste, surpassing the 190 tonnes collected in 2024.
Around 30 lakh visitors attended the festival, which was held on May 11-12.
Organic wastes including tender coconuts, clothes mostly used socks and sugarcane waste formed major garbage collected during the festival. 'Sanitary workers from neighbouring civic bodies like Vellore, Arcot, Arani and Gudiyatham were also roped in to clean the temple town. The entire work was completed by Tuesday noon,' S. Selva Balaji, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu.
Along with Mr. Balaji, Collector K. Tharpagaraj inspected cleaning work on Tuesday. Corporation officials said that food wastes also contributed to total garbage generated during the festival.
Most food wastes were generated from 147 annadhanam spots. More than 100 organisations and individuals got the nod for free distribution of food during the festival. 'Such enormous waste of food could have been avoided by efficient management of its distribution by organisers. Devotees should also be responsible and stop wasting food during the festival,' said B. Archana, a resident.
Apart from 600 sanitary workers of the civic body, around 1,300 workers from DRDA were also engaged for the mammoth exercise. Over 80 per cent of sanitary workers were women.
Most of the wastes were dumped at the 15 acre-landfill site near the Girivalam path. Food waste will be recycled to make organic manure for farming and terrace gardens in the town.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
12 hours ago
- New Indian Express
I-Day awardees in Coimbatore to be bestowed with shields made of hard-to-recycle plastic waste
COIMBATORE: To encourage recycling of Multi-Layered Plastic (MLP) waste, which often ends up in landfills and harms the environment, the Coimbatore district administration and the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) have made eco-friendly award shields for this Independence Day. The district administration honours people for their outstanding contributions and excellent public service by handing over shields every year during the Independence Day celebration. This year, the Coimbatore district administration is going to hand over award shields made out of recycled MLP waste. The award shields, officials hoped, would be remembered by every awardee for their performances as much as their interest in plastic waste recycling to protect the environment. "This is more than just an award; it is a message. By recognising excellence with shields made from recycled waste, we are honouring both the achievements of individuals and our commitment to environmental sustainability. We hope this inspires more people to segregate waste at source and support recycling initiatives," said District Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar. The shields were produced at the Arasur Panchayat Plastic Waste Management Unit in Sulur Block, a facility operated under the DRDA for processing and repurposing difficult-to-recycle materials collected from the public, according to Sanket Balwant Waghe, the Additional Collector (Development) and the Project Director of DRDA.
The Hindu
19 hours ago
- The Hindu
Determination, hard work essential for cracking UPSC exams: experts
R.M.K. Group of Institutions, in collaboration with Shankar IAS Academy and The Hindu, conducted 'Become a Bureaucrat' event at R.M.K. Engineering College in Gummidipoondi on Wednesday. The event was held to inspire students to pursue careers in the Indian bureaucracy, and provide them with insights from esteemed professionals in the field. S.R. Jangid, retired IPS officer and former Director-General of Police in Tamil Nadu, outlined eight key components for joining the civil services – vision, faith, hard work, discipline, perseverance, planning, time management and focus. Sharing his journey of becoming a civil servant, Tiruvallur Collector M. Prathap said developing the habit of reading newspapers, along with determination and hard work, was essential for cracking the UPSC exams. He also stressed on having peers who share the vision of succeeding, and who can inspire instead of demotivate. R.M. Kishore, Vice-Chairman, R.M.K. Group of Institutions, motivated and encouraged the students, and also highlighted the importance of integrity and dedication. Babu Vijay, Senior Regional Manager and Cluster Head – The Hindu, spoke about the role of newspapers in UPSC examination preparations. K.A. Mohamed Junaid, Principal of R.M.K. Engineering College; N. Anbuchezhian, Principal of R.M.D. Engineering College; R.S. Muniratham, Founder and Chairman, R.M.K. Group of Institutions; N. Suresh Kumar, Principal of R.M.K College of Engineering and Technology, were also present.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Pedestrian woes hamper Yellow Line metro station access
A day into the launch of Namma Metro's Yellow Line, which connects R.V. Road to Bommasandra, commuters have begun flagging concerns regarding the struggle to reach the stations on foot. A reality check by The Hindu at several stations on the new stretch, including Delta Electronics Bommasandra, Hebbagodi, and Electronics City, revealed that access is challenging owing to poor pedestrian infrastructure, long detours to reach foot overbridges (FoBs) or underpasses, and in some cases, blocked bus bays. 500-metre detours for a safe crossing: Commuters say that apart from R.V. Road station, where there is a pedestrian crossing near the traffic signal, most Yellow Line stations lack direct, safe access for those arriving on foot. For instance, at Delta Electronics Bommasandra, the nearest FoB or underpass is nearly 400 to 500 metres away, requiring people to walk along and cross the busy Hosur Road highway. Meanwhile, though a bus stop has been built right at the doorstep of the Bommasandra station by the NHAI, buses continue to halt at the main signal instead, where traffic from multiple directions converges. Adding to the confusion, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) has placed barricades blocking direct bus entry to the station premises. For daily commuters, the current arrangement is risky and inconvenient. 'I work at one of the factories in the Bommasandra Industrial Area and I take the metro to save time,' said Naveen Kumar, a commuter waiting outside the station. 'But to get here, I have to cross the signal with heavy lorries and buses or walk a long way to the FoB. The bus stop next to the station is lying unused. It defeats the whole point of having a metro if people cannot reach it safely,' he added. Footpaths blocked At Hebbagodi station, while a skywalk and underpass exist, they are located almost 500 metres away. Commuters using the footpath find their way blocked by BBMP garbage lorries, which park near the Hebbagodi metro depot to segregate waste. 'The footpath is so bad that you end up walking on the road alongside vehicles. Just when you think you have found a clear path, you see these big garbage lorries parked in front of you. I have missed trains because I couldn't get past in time. This is not something we should be dealing with after spending so much money on building a metro line,' said Anita S., a regular commuter from Hebbagodi. Accessibility gaps One of the most important stations on the Yellow Line, the double-elevated Jayadeva Hospital interchange, has been touted as a modern, well-planned facility. With 12 entrances spread across four zones with lifts, the station is designed to handle heavy commuter traffic and connect the Yellow and the Pink Lines. However, reaching these entrances is not straightforward. Many access points are surrounded by broken footpaths, uneven surfaces, and chaotic traffic. 'The station itself is impressive, but it feels like the planners stopped thinking once they finished building it. You have lifts, but first you have to dodge traffic, step over potholes, and find your way around missing pavements just to get to them. It's exhausting,' said Harish Rao, a commuter. Stations at BTM Layout, Silk Board, Bommanahalli, and Kudlu Gate present similar problems. Urban mobility expert M.N. Srihari pointed out that such problems stem from poor inter-agency coordination. 'Metro construction cannot be seen in isolation. You need to ensure that BBMP, BMRCL, and BMTC and the traffic police work together from the design stage itself. What we are seeing now is the result of working without coordination. The metro is ready, but the supporting infrastructure is not. This is a classic case of how world-class projects lose their efficiency because of last-mile negligence. Pedestrian access should be integrated into the station design itself, not treated as an afterthought,' he said.
