The New Indian Express 09.11.2009
Bantwal civic body turns to street plays
BANTWAL: Tired of constantly getting flak, the Bantwal Municipality has hit upon a novel idea to make the public realize that effective waste management is practically impossible without the involvement of the citizens.
The municipality had been facing a volley of criticism for the delay in clearing garbage bins, the consequent overflowing bins and the fear of a spread of diseases.
The civic body was at its wit’s end over making the citizens realize that they were partners in keeping the town hygienic and beautiful and thus equally responsible for proper disposal of garbage.
In October, the municipality decided to use street plays to make people realize that they, too, had a role to play.
It decided to start the Solid Waste Disposal Jatha 2009 to organize street plays at prominent places in all the 23 wards.
The plays aim at sending out messages on how plastic poses a threat to the environment and how citizens can join hands with the civic body in disposing of the solid waste.
The Jatha was officially inaugurated on November 1 and street plays have been staged at BC Road, Panemangalore, Melkar, Kaikamba and at schools in Bantwal Municipality limits.
The plays are being staged by Samsara of the Education Resource Centre, with the artistes including Maunesh Vishwakarma of Puttur, Sandeep of Bantwal, Krishnaiah of Laila, Mukesh of Sullia, Prashant K Salian of Beltangady, Girish of Kasargod, Shivappa of Mulleria and Prakash of Badiyadka.
Bantwal Municipality has also procured two tractors to help collect garbage from all establishments, hotels and homes and dispose of it at a landfill.
The municipality has also approved a differential fee for the garbage collected. The tenders for collecting garbage will be floated again by the municipality as it did not receive any response in the first round.
