Chennai clears 200 tonnes of firecracker waste after Diwali, targets 450 tonnes

Sanitation workers in Chennai have been working intensively to remove the firecracker waste left behind after Diwali celebrations, and about 200 tonnes have been cleared so far, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation.

The civic body aims to remove around 450 tonnes of waste in total by tomorrow, and 600 additional sanitation workers have been deployed across the city to speed up the operation.

Workers have been given special bags to collect firecracker waste separately, the Corporation said. The collected waste is being transported to a dedicated processing centre in Gummidipoondi, where it will be handled safely and scientifically.

The Corporation has asked the public not to mix firecracker waste with ordinary household garbage or dump it on streets, and instead to segregate it and hand it over to sanitation workers in separate bags.

The corporation had asked residents to segregate crackers, wrappers and paper boxes from regular household waste and hand them directly to conservancy workers to speed up the sweep. Officials said, however, that the appeal had not received the level of cooperation they expected, which slowed work in some neighbourhoods.