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Conservancy workers removing garbage generated during Ayudha Pooja festival at Chinna Kadai Veethi in Salem in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: LAKSHMI NARAYANAN E.

On account of the Ayudha Pooja festival, the Salem Corporation removed more than 100 metric tonnes of excess waste generated beyond the regular waste, as of Tuesday morning (October 20, 2026).

In Salem Corporation, under four zones namely Hasthampatti, Ammapet, Kondalampatti and Sooramangalam, over 500 to 550 metric tonnes of garbage are generated every day in these 60 wards. Through 2,400 conservancy workers, the waste is being removed using four excavators, eight mini excavators, 213 light commercial vehicles (LCV) and 21 tipper trucks. During the Ayudha pooja festival, anticipating a high amount of garbage and solid waste generation, the Corporation allocated an additional 28 vehicles, including one excavator, two tipper trucks and four LCVs.

From Monday morning (October 19, 2026), the conservancy workers began clearing the solid waste generated as part of the festival. Officials attached to the Salem Corporation said that until Tuesday morning, workers removed between 100 and 150 metric tonnes of additional garbage generated during the celebrations. As the people will celebrate the Vijayadasami festival on Tuesday, the exact metric tonnes of garbage generated in two days will be known on Wednesday morning (October 21, 2026), officials added.

Likewise, in Namakkal Corporation, as many as 61 metric tonnes of garbage are generated on an average every day. This would be removed by six tipper trucks, 30 LCVs and 503 conservancy workers. Due to the festival, garbage and solid waste generated in these 51 wards were cleared from Monday morning and, the workers cleared an additional 56 metric tonnes of garbage. In total, 107 metric tonnes of garbage were removed during the Ayudha pooja festival, officials added.

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