Soon, buffalo carts lifting garbage in east Delhi will be a rare sight. The East Corporation is in the process to procure more auto-tippers to do away with buffalo carts.
An auto-tipper, popularly known as the waste carrying vehicle, not only collects garbage from dhalaos (roadside dumps) but it also helps in its disposal.One auto-tipper has the capacity to collect as much waste as three buffalo carts put together. “We will be purchasing auto-tippers in a phased manner. In the first lot, 70 auto-tippers will be purchased and they will replace 210 buffalo carts,” said Additional Commissioner Pawan Sharma.
“It is impossible to take buffalo carts off the roads without bringing in auto-tippers. It will lead to the compilation of waste at dhalaos. So the corporation has decided to first procure auto-tippers and then stop buffalo carts from collecting waste,” he added.
Councillors of both the ruling and opposition parties raised the issue in the standing committee meeting of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation on Thursday. They said auto-tippers are more efficient in collecting garbage than buffalo carts. “Garbage carrying vehicles can even make more trips in less time,” said Leader of Opposition Varyam Kaur.
Legislators also pointed out some of the flaws with waste carrying vehicles. “Auto-tippers don’t come regulary in my ward,” said Savita Sharma, a councillor from Subhash Mohalla. “Some of them don’t have loudspeakers. People don’t get to know when they come to their localities so they can put their waste into the vehicles directly,” she added.
Chairman of the standing committee B B Tyagi directed officials to make sure auto-tippers visit the assigned areas regularly. There are over 800 buffalo carts plying in the areas under the limits of the East Corporation. “In the second phase, we will bring 70 auto-tippers more to replace another 210 buffalo carts. But we will still be left with over 375 buffalo carts. It will take some time to stop the dependence on the buffalo carts,” Sharma said.
Even the North and South Corporations are working to take buffalo carts off their roads.