The Hindu        30.10.2014  

Municipal bodies plan post-Chhath clean up

With thousands gathering on the banks of the Yamuna across Delhi to celebrate Chhath, municipal corporations are getting ready to clean up after the rituals.

The festival will conclude with people standing in the river to make offerings of fruit and food to the sun by 8 a.m. on Thursday. After that, the job of the municipal corporations and the Delhi Government’s Irrigation and Flood Control Department will start.

According to municipal officials, the Irrigation Department cleans the shallow parts of the river and deposits the waste at the banks, which is then lifted by the civic body. “Our sanitation workers and trucks will be at the banks by Thursday afternoon to start the cleaning,” said North Corporation spokesperson Y.S. Mann. The Corporation had put up temporary garbage bins along the ghats during the festival to keep littering at the minimum.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which has three ghats under its jurisdiction, will deploy sanitation workers along the banks on Thursday.

The Hindu         30.10.2014  

Corporation gears up for ‘Clean Kozhikode’ drive

Raising a stink:Waste bins at key positions to ensure that people do not dump waste all around is key to the success of the project for cleaning up Kozhikode.— Photo: s. Ramesh Kurup

With the Kozhikode Corporation’s ‘Suchitwa Nagaram Sundara Nagaram’ project all set to be launched on November 1, the Mayor and the working committee of the project are collecting opinions and suggestions from all quarters for it successful implementation. A meeting with media representatives on Wednesday gave the Corporation some fresh insights on the importance of waste disposal.

Many mediapersons opined that to ensure cleanliness in the city, it was necessary to give exemplary punishment to those who caused pollution. The idea was to closely monitor the roads and water bodies for any one throwing away the waste or dumping them in other people’s compound and make an example of them by punishing them as per the law.

Waste disposal

The disposal of waste in an efficient manner was the major topic for discussion. Mayor A.K. Premajam said that it was a hard task for the Corporation to go ahead with such a challenging project in the absence of a Health Officer or Health Superintendent to monitor it.

Some mediaperson emphasised the importance of dustbins on roadsides to ensure that people do not throw away waste along the roads. Some also suggested separate bins for organic and inorganic waste. Some even suggested that the Corporation should provide a place to dump the waste so that people do not dump it along the roads.

Efficient collection of waste from households and establishments was emphasised. Centralised waste processing along with decentralised units like biogas plants and pipe compost were appreciated. Stress was given to continuous monitoring and continuing the awareness process so that the project did not lose its tempo over the time.

The Corporation is planning to enlist the service of residents’ associations, street committees, merchants, students, and voluntary organisations to ensure proper implementation of the project. As a first step, an awareness programme will be held for representatives from various wards of the Corporation at S.K. Pottekkat Cultural Centre on November 1 at 2 p.m.

The project aims at a completely clean city with efficient waste disposal programmes come New Year.