MC lacks adequate garbage-lifting machinery

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Aug 20: The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) lacks adequate garbage-lifting vehicles and a proper dumping ground.

There are only 70 garbage-lifting vehicles and some garbage-handling equipment available with the corporation.

According to sources, the immediate requirement of vehicle machinery includes 10 tippers, one front-end loader, two dumper placer vehicles, one loader excavator, five Tata ACE and 100 dumper placer bins. Besides, there is also a requirement for one recovery vehicle, one cattle lifting vehicle, one electric platform with sky lifting system and two cab/crew vehicles.

“We are facing shortage of machinery for lifting and dumping of garbage. We have been sending applications to the commissioner of the corporation from time to time but he has not bothered about it,” a JMC official on condition of anonymity said, adding that “we have to collect about 300 metric tones of garbage every day. For that we have only 70 garbage-lifting vehicles.”

Expressing disappointment over the lack of proper dumping place, he said along with these vehicles, there was also immediate requirement for a proper dumping place. The authorities concerned should look into the matter.

“In the absence of a proper dumping place, we dump the garbage into the Tawi bed,” he said, adding that “The JMC is also facing an acute shortage of manpower. Along with 70 operational staff, we have only 85 labourers. They are day labourers who are being paid Rs 70 per day for their work.”

Appealing to the masses, he said: “Those who have municipal garbage bins in their areas should utilize them instead of dumping garbage into open plots. People should not through domestic waste into the nallahs as it obstructs free flow of water.”