The Hindu 20.01.2015
Door-to-door garbage collection to begin in areas under GPs
Dakshina Kannada Water and Sanitation Committee in its
meeting on Monday decided that garbage (solid waste) collection from the
doorsteps of establishments in semi-urban areas in the jurisdiction of
at least five gram panchayats in Belthangady and Mangaluru taluks should
start with in a month.
Asha Thimmappa Gowda, president, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, presided over the meeting.
The
meeting decided to start the collection jointly by the respective gram
panchayats and Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project
(SKDRDP), a non-governmental organisation.
It decided
that collection could start from five to 10 gram panchayats around
Dharmasthala in Belthangady taluk, because a solid waste dumping site
near Dharmasthala was ready for use.
In Mangaluru
taluk the collection should be taken up from gram panchayats near Konaje
as Mangaluru University could allot some land under its ownership for
dumping.
Satish Kumpala, vice-president of the zilla
panchayat, told the meeting talks were on with the university to secure a
portion of its land for the purpose.
Lack of dumping sites
Both
the president and vice-president said that dumping of waste in
semi-urban areas in the jurisdiction of gram panchayats had emerged as
an issue for lack of suitable dumping sites.
On the other hand, plastic menace in semi-urban and rural areas was becoming alarming.
To
keep semi-urban areas clean, collection of waste from the doorsteps
should start wherever suitable sites were available. As a beginning it
should start from the two taluks.
“We have had a
number of meetings on the issue. There is no point in remaining only in
discussion stage. Action should happen in at least some gram
panchayats,” Mr. Kumpala told the meeting.
He said that unless a beginning was made it would be difficult to keep semi-urban areas clean.
Earlier,
a representative of the SKDRDP explained to the meeting how the NGO was
collecting garbage from the doorsteps in Chikkamagaluru town in
association with the urban local body there.
Plastic buntings ban
Ms.
Gowda instructed all gram panchayats to ban displaying plastic buntings
in their jurisdiction. She said that paper and cloth buntings could be
allowed.
Solid waste dumping site near Dharmasthala is ready for use
