PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) on Saturday blamed operational disruptions at the Kargi mechanised waste transfer station for delays in door-to-door garbage collection and waste lifting across several parts of the city.
The chief municipal health officerDr Anand Shukla said that only one machine has been functioning at the Kargi facility since Saturday morning, significantly reducing its waste-handling capacity. The disruption has forced authorities to divert a larger number of waste-carrying vehicles to the Sheembada processing plant, affecting the city’s waste management network and widening gaps in collection routes.
Shukla said that the problems at Kargi have impacted the entire waste management chain. He alleged that Rasha Infrastructure and Services Limited, the agency operating the transfer station, had failed to perform according to its assigned capacity and had not been sending the required quantity of waste to Sheembada.
Shukla said that the MCD and Smart City management had cancelled the agency’s contract and served it a one-month notice. The company will continue operations during the notice period, after which the corporation plans to take over the facility. “Even before the notice was issued, the work being done by them was inadequate and there has been no improvement after the notice, ” Shukla added. Since morning, only one machine has been operating,” he said.
The disruption has coincided with the breakdown of five to six door-to-door waste collection vehicles, further slowing waste collection operations. Shukla said that the vehicles are expected to be repaired within two to three days and additional vehicles have been deployed to maintain services in affected areas.
“The gap in routes has increased, which is why there is a delay in lifting waste from roads and houses,” Shukla said.
Rasha Infrastructure has sought the release of around Rs 4.93 crore in pending dues and had earlier warned it could stop operations after August 31. The company has also cited operational and structural shortcomings at the Kargi facility.
