After Attukal Pongala, 345 tonnes of waste generated

Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s sanitation workers clearing up waste from the streets after Attukal Pongala on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The sanitation workers deployed by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation collected as much as 345 tonnes of waste from various wards in the city after the Attukal Pongala on Thursday (March 13, 2025). The huge amount of waste was removed within hours from the city streets. After segregation of the plastic waste, biodegradable waste materials were taken to a few dumping sites, according to officials of the civic body’s health wing.

It has been a hectic month for the health wing, beginning with a door-to-door awareness campaign regarding the green protocol to be followed for the festival. However, the health inspectors The Hindu spoke to said that considerable amounts of plastic waste was recovered from different parts of the city.

“The ground-level awareness campaign on the green protocol as well as the information disseminated through media was effective in that we could see a majority of the devotees carrying steel plates and tumblers. However, major sources of plastic and other disposable waste were voluntary organisations involved in food and drinking water distribution. Most of the 236 organisations which had registered with the Corporation followed the protocol strictly, but there were many unregistered ones in various localities, who used disposable plates and cups, adding to the pile of waste,” said a health inspector.

The segregated plastic waste was taken to the material collection facilities while the biodegradable waste had to be taken to dumping sites as the quantity was much more than the decentralised facilities like aerobic bins could handle. The Corporation will deploy 3, 204 sanitation workers, including temporary workers for clean-up activities. A total of 154 vehicles, including trucks and pickup autorickshaws, were used to clear up the waste which was spread out over 30 wards. Another 350 vehicles were used for collection of bricks used in the makeshift hearths for Attukal Pongala.