The Hindu 01.12.2010
KMC deputes ‘green brigade' for sanitation awareness
Staff Reporter
| Clad in special uniforms, they are visiting residential areas in the morning |
Sanitation worker can serve notices on residents, who dump garbage on to the roads
KMC Special Officer Sasidhar planning to expand micro-sanitation programme to other areas
KAKINADA: A small group of women clad in special uniform and holding a public address system was seen every day in one residential area or the other in the city for the last couple of weeks. Visiting door to do, these women were explaining the importance of keeping one's surroundings clean and proper methods of waste management.
Employed by the Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) as part of implementing the ‘micro-sanitation' project, all the 50 social workers were divided into groups and participating in a massive campaign on sanitation. Wearing the specially designed jerkins with the letters ‘KMC' printed on them, the women were visiting the residential areas in the morning hours and shops and establishments in the afternoons.
With the help of the public address system, they were interacting with people residing in top floors of residential complexes and urging them not to throw solid wastes either on to the road or in the drainage, as they were liable to be punished with a fine. Introducing the sanitation worker of the street to all the residents, the uniform-clad women were advising the residents to segregate wastes into dry and wet and hand it over properly to the workers every morning. The sanitation worker can serve notices on the residents, who were resorting to throw the garbage on to the roads. After three notices, fine would be levied on the residents by the civic authorities.
“The reception is good and women and children are listening to us patiently. Though we were a little bit hesitant in the first couple of days to insist them on segregating the wastes and explain them about the fine and all, now we are comfortable with the job,” said V. Anantha Lakshmi, a social worker, who was campaigning in Gandhinagar area.
The civic body is paying Rs. 150 a day each to 50 social workers for launching the campaign. Though the micro-sanitation programme was launched in 14 divisions initially, Special Officer of the Municipal Corporation and Joint Collector K. Sasidhar was planning to expand it to the other divisions too. “It takes some time to change the habit of throwing the garbage out. My children are reminding me of the levying of fine every day,” said Ch. Lalitha Kumari, a resident of Dantuvari Veedhi.
