Ludhiana MC tests out e-rickshaws for garbage lifting in four wards

Taking a cue from Chennai, the Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) is set to make use of e-rickshaws for door-to-door lifting of garbage.

It has purchased 350 e-rickshaws at a cost of around ₹8.5 crore, of which 50 have already been received while the rest will be delivered within two months. The MC has distributed 40 e-rickshaws among waste collectors in four wards of the city, as part of the trial run.

The wards where the trials are being carried out include ward number 78, represented by mayor Balkar Sandhu, besides wards 18, 30 and 89.

As per officials, e-rickshaw will help save the time and energy of garbage collectors who currently use carts for door-to-door collection.

An official, requesting anonymity, said sometimes, garbage collectors struggle to reach secondary points and so dump the waste in open plots. With e-rickshaws, the collectors will be able to reach the secondary dump sites easily.

E-rickshaws to have separate containers for wet, dry waste

A partition has been created in the container of e-rickshaws to facilitate collection of segregated waste (dry and wet waste). Facing the heat of National Green Tribunal (NGT), the MC has been struggling to ensure waste segregation in the city due to lack of infrastructure.

Officials said the container attached to the e-vehicles has the capacity to carry waste in two carts and can cover a distance of around 75 kms once fully charged. Garbage collectors are also being trained to run these e-vehicles.

MC commissioner Shena Aggarwal said the trial has been initiated to see the working of e-vehicles and resolve issues, if any, before the vehicles are deployed across the city. “The civic body will receive the delivery of the remaining 300 e-vehicles soon,” she added.

The proposal to deploy e-rickshaws for door-to-door garbage lifting was tabled after an MC team, including mayor Balkar Sandhu, saw the same in Chennai during a study tour on solid waste management last year.

MC working to set up charging stations

The MC is still working to set up charging stations at dump sites to facilitate charging of e-vehicles. For the time being, garbage collectors have been asked to charge vehicle at home. The vehicles can be charged easily by plugging the wire to a regular socket.

Officials fear theft of batteries

MC officials also fear theft of batteries from the e-rickshaws due to which the sanitary inspectors have been directed to keep the e-rickshaws in their custody after the waste collectors finish their work. The inspectors will also keep tabs on the working of garbage collectors.