Fuel shortage : Garbage clearing work grounded
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 09 2010: Garbage clearance work done by four NGOs under Imphal Municipal Council in Imphal Municipal areas including Khwairamband market has come to a grinding halt due to unavailability of diesel to run the pick-up trucks.

The Workers' Union, CRED, Seven Security Force and the Thangmeiband Assembly Constituency Development Force were the four NGOs engaged by the IMC for the garbage picking work to keep Imphal city clean.

These NGOs have been picking household wastes and garbage from some parts of Khwairamband Keithel and houses located within Imphal Municipality area.

With garbage removal work stopping, wastes pile up

Talking to The Sangai Express, IMC Chairperson RK Ranisana said that the garbage picking work done by the four NGOs and the IMC has been completely halted since yesterday due to unavailability of diesel.

The NGOs asked for some special arrangements to make diesel available so that the garbage picking work can be carried on.

But at the moment, it is unclear what kind of measures should be taken up to make diesel available, Ranisana said.

Following suspension of the garbage picking work, piles of garbage and waste materials heaped at different points of Khwairamband Keithel and Nagamapal are increasing.

These piles have posed serious health hazards as they have started rotting.

Unavailability of diesel has also seriously affected development works of the Government.

Hot Mix Plant run by the PWD has already stopped functioning.

One PWD official said, "forget about running the Hot Mix Plant, fuel oil for movement of officials are not available".

He said that the Hot Mix Plants run by the Government consumed about 2000 litres of diesel in a day.

With the Hot Mix Plants not functioning, black-topping works have also been halted.

Quoting a notice issued by the Chief Minister, one Minister in the SPF Government said that an official meeting will be held at 3 pm tomorrow to discuss the present situation resulting from cessation of transporting goods to the State.

The present condition of NH 53 will also feature in the meeting which would also be attended by engineers of the State Government and the BRO.

The meeting will deliberate on repairing bridges along NH 53 which are currently in bad shape and also to begin transportation of petroleum products, live saving drugs and other essential commodities along the highway at the earliest.