PCMC to acquire 150 more rickshaw hoppers

A total of 150 more autorickshaw hoppers will soon go round the twin township of Pimpri-Chinchwad collecting dry and wet garbage separately.

A total of 150 more autorickshaw hoppers will soon go round the twin township of Pimpri-Chinchwad collecting dry and wet garbage separately. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) would spend Rs eight crore to acquire 150 rickshaw hoppers adding to its existing fleet of 60 which were earlier procured under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The 60 hoppers go door-to-door collecting waste from a total of 56,000 households in the township. We would soon float a tender to acquire 150 autorickshaw hoppers. These mechanised units have a built-in tipping system which will not require manual unloading of the garbage. The hoppers will also have different chambers for wet and dry garbage, said PCMC Asheesh Sharma.

Sharma said by December PCMC will try to maximize the collection of wet and dry garbage separately. The main hurdle before the municipal corporation is to educate citizens about the necessity to segregate wet and dry garbage at home itself.

We expect to cover around three lakh houses once the new hoppers are acquired as each hopper can cover 1500 houses a day, said Sharma.

However,not everyone is welcoming the move. Sulbha Ubale,Pimpri-Chinchwad Shiv Sena party leader said,I am surprised at this jump in the cost of autorickshaw. Earlier,60 hoppers were acquired for Rs 1.31 crore and now PCMC officials claim that 150 hoppers would cost Rs 8 crore. Some corporators of the ruling NCP are pressurizing the PCMC commissioner to acquire them for their own personal gains. There is no need for so many hoppers now. The work done by the ghantagadi workers,who collect garbage by going house to house,is good. Increased mechanisation for them would mean loss of jobs.

Ubale said that the state government has refused to pay up its share under JNNURM citing lack of funds. PCMC has yet to receive Rs 70 crore from the state government. Also,with cost escalation in projects going upwards of 100 per cent in many projects,the PCMC has been forced to foot the additional bill,she said.

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