Public Health / Sanitation

The metamorphosis of a garbage dump into an ecological hub

Monday, 22 December 2014 07:11 administrator

The Hindu 22.12.2014

The metamorphosis of a garbage dump into an ecological hub

EDMC plans to make Shahdara Lake a recreational site

Imagine sitting by the blue waters of a lake in East Delhi, surrounded by manicured gardens, listening to live music and sampling a range of cuisines. With its redevelopment of Shahdara Lake, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation is hoping to create just that — an ecological and recreational hub at a spot that resembles a garbage dump today.

Over the weekend, the EDMC officially started its long-overdue project to revive the 14-acre lake and its surroundings. Once complete, the area will have playgrounds for children, lawns to host parties, an amphitheatre for live shows, a food court and a meditation garden. It will even have a walkway for those coming from the nearby Welcome metro station.

The area is currently being used by locals to throw garbage and includes many encroachments. Central to the plan is a water body with its own ecosystem and a natural waste-water treatment plant based on Phytorid technology, which uses plants for absorption.

According to area councillor Harsh Deep Malhotra, the first phase of the project will take nine months and cost Rs.22 lakh. He added that the development of the gardens and recreational areas will only start after the water treatment is completed in the first phase.

A senior EDMC official said the project was first proposed in 2012. The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute was roped in to draw up the plans.

The Delhi Government through its Trans-Yamuna Development Board had cleared a budget of Rs.22 crore for the project.

“This project is ultimately on the move after facing a lot of hindrances. It is dream come true for us,” said EDMC Mayor Meenakshi.

While the water treatment work has been started by NEERI, it remains to be seen when the cash-strapped EDMC gets the remaining funds for its ambitious project.

Central to the project is a water body with its own ecosystem and a natural waste-water treatment plant based on Phytorid technology, which uses plants for absorption

Garbage containers will be removed: MCC Commissioner

Monday, 22 December 2014 05:42 administrator

The Hindu 22.12.2014

Garbage containers will be removed: MCC Commissioner

Corporation had purchased over 250 containers earlier

The Directorate of Urban Development has issued a circular to corporations and municipalities to stop buying containers and to withdraw containers that are in use.— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

The Directorate of Urban Development has instructed all city corporations, and city and town municipalities not to buy containers to collect garbage, as well as dumper placer vehicles. It also instructed civic bodies to disuse containers and dumper placers which had already been purchased.

The directorate further directed corporations and other municipal bodies to shift garbage collected from primary sources through house-to-house collection to garbage trucks and send it to decentralised garbage processing units or landfill sites.

Nuisance

It said that people would not put garbage properly into the containers and civic bodies would not lift the garbage periodically, creating a nuisance to passersby and people near the containers. Hence, the directorate found that garbage containers was not an ideal solution. In accordance with a directorate issued recently, the Mysore City Corporation had decided not to purchase containers hereafter nor to repair damaged containers.

C.G. Betsurmath, Commissioner of Mysuru City Corporation, told The Hindu here today that the Corporation had purchased over 250 containers sometime ago and they were placed at certain points in the city.

He said that many of them, which were in a ramshackle condition, were being withdrawn and in another three to four months there would be no garbage container in any part of the city. The Commissioner said that the corporation had already commenced collecting segregated garbage from households, hotels and restaurants and other shops.

The Corporation took up a drive to create awareness among people about the need to segregate waste. It had distributed over three lakh dust bins to BPL families and to people living in different slums in Mysuru city, he said.

However, containers in many parts of the city are overflowing with filth and garbage. The Corporation had spent crores of rupees to buy containers few years ago.

Garbage collection fee to be introduced soon in Mandya

Wednesday, 05 November 2014 05:54 administrator

The India 05.11.2014

Garbage collection fee to be introduced soon in Mandya

CMC plans to launch door-to-door solid waste collection

As solid waste is creating major health and environmental problems, the Mandya City Municipal Council (CMC) has decided to impose a fee for solid waste collection by year-end.

The municipal council has also resolved to introduce door-to-door waste collection system and outsource solid waste management to self-help groups (SHGs). The fee will be Rs. 30 a month from each household.

Dumping solid waste on pavements and by the roadside is a punishable offence under certain provisions of the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2000, said N.M. Shashikumar, Commissioner of CMC.

Requesting the people not to dump solid waste in public places, Mr. Shashikumar said that the CMC would improve the solid waste management system in all 35 wards of the town.

The total quantity of solid waste being generated in Mandya is about 56,000 tonnes a day. According to 2011 census, there are 32,986 houses in the CMC limits of Mndya, Environment Engineer N.S. Sneha (CMC) told The Hindu.

The municipal council has set up garbage bins at about 30 places in the town. However, these bins will be removed in a phased manner. People should hand over the solid waste to garbage collection vehicles or push carts, she said.

The municipal council had installed about 300 garbage bins at different places. The cost of each bin was about Rs. 30,000.

More than 85 per cent of the bins installed had worn out owing to rust. The municipal council had removed such rusted bins and dumped them at a vacant place near the water tank in Gandhi Nagar.

Meanwhile, the municipal council has invited proposals from women organisations and self-help groups (SHG) for collection and disposal of solid waste from within the municipal limits.

The contracted SHG will be entitled to collect Rs. 30 from each household, Ms. Sneha said here on Monday.

The current system of solid waste management has been considered as very poor owing to lack of pourakarmikas and non-availability of sufficient garbage bins.

People have been dumping the garbage by roadside, pavements and common places.

At present, there are 90 permanent pourakarmikas with the CMC. It has hired 181 persons on contract. A majority of will be busy everyday either clearing garbage or cleaning drains.

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