Pune: PMC Contractors Ordered to Start Waste Treatment Projects at 7 AM to Avoid Delays
Pune, 27th August 2024: Road sweeping and Garbage Collection in Pune city start early in the morning. However, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) contractors have been starting their waste treatment projects only after 8 AM. This delay has led to long queues of vehicles transporting waste outside the projects, affecting waste management in Pune and causing delays for people. As a result, contractors have been ordered to begin garbage projects at 7 AM.
Pune generates around 2,200 tonnes of waste daily, which is sorted into dry and wet waste and processed. Household waste is collected through SWaCH Pune, and garbage collectors’ waste is transported to ramps by PMC’s garbage trucks. From there, it is loaded into large trucks and taken to waste disposal plants. The PMC’s waste management system begins early in the morning, before the market opens and when road traffic is light, allowing for effective road cleaning and garbage removal. All work typically ends by 1 or 2 PM. Alongside garbage collection, garbage transportation also starts early, but contractor projects have been starting at 8 or 9 AM. As a result, vehicles carrying waste are often parked outside the project sites, waiting for entry. This delay causes garbage to accumulate on the ramps and disrupts the entire process.
Despite complaints from PMC employees and instructions from the Deputy Commissioner of the PMC’s Solid Waste Department to start projects earlier, contractors have not improved their timing. A meeting was held yesterday with contractors at Additional Commissioner Prithviraj B.P.’s office, where the issue of delayed project starts was addressed. The meeting emphasized that contractors must plan to start projects at seven o’clock and implement this change immediately. Additionally, the issue of all employees taking lunch breaks simultaneously, causing queues in the afternoon, was discussed. Additional Commissioner Prithviraj B.P. instructed that the project should continue without closing during lunch breaks, with a rotation of staff to ensure that some people remain at work while others take their break.
