Puducherry:
The private agency entrusted to remove garbage in the union territory has stopped work, citing non-availability of funds from the Local Administration Department as the reason.
The Bangalore based agency stopped collecting garbage last week, saying non availability of funds since January this year had cast a burden on them and as much as Rs 26 crores is due from the government.
Stoppage of work resulted in the opposition Congress planning agitations. Union Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasamy had also called on Lt Governor Dr Iqbal Singh to seek his directives to the government for steps to lift the garbage.
Meanwhile, students and youth congress volunteers staged a demonstration on Sunday with PCC leader AV Subramanian joining them to sweep away garbage on a main road.
On Monday, the Local Administration Department deployed sanitary workers with tractors to remove solid waste.
The Administration felt the previous Congress regime had fixed the price of Rs 1,800 for a tonne to clear garbage without any reason. A review meeting was also allegedly held to recast the norms to prevent strain on the exchequer.
The solid waste management scheme was enforced by the agency in association with Puducherry Urban Development Agency.