GMC to start post-Diwali cleanup at 3 am with 3,000 workers

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation will send out more than 3,000 sanitation workers from about 3 am on Monday to clear banana stems, firecracker remains and other waste left after Diwali.

Mayor Mrigen Sarania said the special drive would cover roads, markets and residential areas across the city. Swachh workers and swachh sakhis will take part, and additional commissioners, assistant commissioners and municipal engineers have been given charge of different stretches so that the work is coordinated, The Assam Tribune reported on Sunday.

"From tomorrow morning, we will begin the cleaning operation as early as 3 am to 3.30 am. More than 3,000 workers, including our swachh workers and swachh sakhis, will be engaged in the drive," Sarania said. He asked residents to celebrate a clean Diwali and not to leave banana stems or firecracker waste on roads or throw them into drains.

Banana stems as elephant fodder

Banana stems are widely used in Guwahati during Diwali to hold earthen lamps. The Mayor said sellers in Ganeshguri, Paltan Bazar and Fancy Bazar often leave unsold stems at their vending spots, adding to the heap of festival waste.

The corporation plans to collect stems that are still fit for use and send them to the Assam State Zoo or to Garbhanga Forest as fodder for elephants. It also wants to pick up stems straight from households, rather than let people dump them in drains or other public places.

That reuse plan sits alongside the wider clean-up. Firecracker waste, which typically litters neighbourhoods after the night of Lakshmi Puja, is another focus. Officials have asked households and vendors to keep public spaces clear and to help the sanitation teams by setting waste aside instead of scattering it.

An early start after the festival

Diwali and Kali Puja fall on November 8 and 9 this year in Assam. Starting the sweep in the small hours of Monday is meant to have main roads and markets usable again before the working day begins.

Guwahati generates a large volume of organic and plastic waste during the festival season. Banana-stem lamps are a local custom, but the stems rot quickly if they are left in gutters, and they can block roadside drains just as the city heads into a cooler, sometimes wetter, spell of late autumn.

The Mayor's appeal is also a reminder that the civic body cannot clear every lane if residents and market vendors keep adding to the pile overnight. Whether the 3,000-strong deployment meets the scale of this year's waste will be clear once the Monday morning drive is under way.