The Times of India 02.06.2010
Open dumping at Urali, Phursungi stopped: PMC
PUNE: After dumping waste at the land-fill site of Urali Devachi and Phursungi for nearly twenty years, the civic body claimed here on Tuesday that it has completely stopped open dumping of garbage here as per its promise to the villagers.
For about a year now, the villagers here had been protesting against open dumping of waste and had been assured by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) that this would cease from June 1, 2010.
While about 1000 metric tonne of garbage was sent for processing at the Hanjer waste processing plant, a vermicomposting project of 100 tonne was inaugurated at Hadapsar by mayor Mohansingh Rajpal on Tuesday.
Speaking during the inauguration, Rajpal expressed satisfaction at PMC's achievement. "I am happy that the issue is finally settled. The fact that processing of waste is gaining momentum is another achievement for the PMC. About 1,000 tonne of waste will be processed at the Hanjer plant starting Tuesday and numerous other smaller projects will come up in the near future. The 100-tonne Hadapsar plant will be eventually expanded and another 100-tonne vermicomposting project will be started at Ramtekdi (on the Pune-Solapur road) in a day or two," Rajpal said.
The mayor also urged citizens to co-operate in the effort by composting waste locally as far as possible. "The PMC will provide all the guidance needed to those interested in setting up such projects."
Suresh Jagtap, head of solid waste management department, PMC, said waste is also being processed at the small bio-gas plants developed in various parts of the city. "Starting Tuesday, open dumping has been stopped at Urali Devachi and Phursungi. However, currently, we can just about process the total amount of waste generated in the city. We will soon have to set up more processing plants to meet emergencies, like a breakdown of an operational unit."
Meanwhile, deputy sarpanch of Urali Devachi Tatyasaheb Bhadale said the PMC indeed did not dump waste openly on Tuesday and that all the vehicles carrying garbage were lined up outside the Hanjer processing plant. "The PMC has kept its promise of not dumping waste at the land-fill site. But we do need to verify whether Hanjer is actually capable of processing so much waste as is being claimed. Hence, we will need to wait and watch for a day or two. What if the PMC starts to dump waste after two days? The villagers are going to visit the processing plant within the next two days and will wait there for a whole day to see how much waste is actually being processed," he added.
For about a year now, the villagers here had been protesting against open dumping of waste and had been assured by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) that this would cease from June 1, 2010.
While about 1000 metric tonne of garbage was sent for processing at the Hanjer waste processing plant, a vermicomposting project of 100 tonne was inaugurated at Hadapsar by mayor Mohansingh Rajpal on Tuesday.
Speaking during the inauguration, Rajpal expressed satisfaction at PMC's achievement. "I am happy that the issue is finally settled. The fact that processing of waste is gaining momentum is another achievement for the PMC. About 1,000 tonne of waste will be processed at the Hanjer plant starting Tuesday and numerous other smaller projects will come up in the near future. The 100-tonne Hadapsar plant will be eventually expanded and another 100-tonne vermicomposting project will be started at Ramtekdi (on the Pune-Solapur road) in a day or two," Rajpal said.
The mayor also urged citizens to co-operate in the effort by composting waste locally as far as possible. "The PMC will provide all the guidance needed to those interested in setting up such projects."
Suresh Jagtap, head of solid waste management department, PMC, said waste is also being processed at the small bio-gas plants developed in various parts of the city. "Starting Tuesday, open dumping has been stopped at Urali Devachi and Phursungi. However, currently, we can just about process the total amount of waste generated in the city. We will soon have to set up more processing plants to meet emergencies, like a breakdown of an operational unit."
Meanwhile, deputy sarpanch of Urali Devachi Tatyasaheb Bhadale said the PMC indeed did not dump waste openly on Tuesday and that all the vehicles carrying garbage were lined up outside the Hanjer processing plant. "The PMC has kept its promise of not dumping waste at the land-fill site. But we do need to verify whether Hanjer is actually capable of processing so much waste as is being claimed. Hence, we will need to wait and watch for a day or two. What if the PMC starts to dump waste after two days? The villagers are going to visit the processing plant within the next two days and will wait there for a whole day to see how much waste is actually being processed," he added.
