Visakhapatnam: Sanitary workers struggle to clear cracker waste after grand Diwali

VISAKHAPATNAM: The bursting of firecrackers on Diwali has only added to the work burden of the sanitary workers of the city the day after on Tuesday. Even though the quantum of the trash generated is only a fraction of the total garbage, several roads and streets were seen littered with the remains of firecrackers.
The roads in front of almost all houses became garbage-strewn places.While the major city roads were back to their usual cleanliness by Tuesday morning, the interior and colony roads were covered by evening. According to the GVMC sanitary wing officials, it is not an easy task to collect and clear all the shreds of paper, discarded cartons, and the cracker waste mix scattered all over the streets, roads, and drains.
The sanitary wing of the GVMC had to toil to clear the roads and restore the beauty on Tuesday. GVMC chief medical officer of health, Dr KSLG Sastry, said the GVMC covered over 90% of the colony roads and streets to clear the cracker waste. “Every line has to be touched by the sanitary work ers as the majority of the people celebrate this festival of lights.
The cracker waste would be around 20 to 30 tonnes,” said Dr Sastry. The Covid-19 pandemic had affected the Diwali festivities in both 2020 and 2021. But according to the traders, there was a surge in the sales of crackers this Diwali, leading to increased waste generation. Several small shops doubled up as (unauthorised) cracker shops to cash in on the increased demand.
Apart from the stalls in the designated places for the sale of the crackers, these shops did brisk business during the peak hours on Monday. M Yellayamma, a sanitary worker, said that clearing Diwali trash consumes a lot of time compared to regular trash.
“As the crackers are shredded into thousands of pieces and litter the entire street during the bursting process, sweeping and garbage removal becomes challenging,” said Yellayamma. The GVMC had earlier given a call to Vizagites to celebrate a green Diwali without contributing to air/noise pollution of the city. The green NGOs conducted various awareness programmes at city educational institutions and other public places to create awareness among the public