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Solid Waste Management

Garbage accumulates as Kanpur Municipal Corporation, A2Z slug it out

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The Times of India                      16.03.2013

Garbage accumulates as Kanpur Municipal Corporation, A2Z slug it out

KANPUR: Unclean roads as well as garbage lying unattended at dumping yards and brimming over from dustbins have become a common sight in the industrial city these days. With less than a fortnight left for Holi, the city is reeling under extreme insanitation as several metric tonnes of garbage rots in wake of the tussle between A2Z and Kanpur Municipal Corporation.

The impact of the absence of regular workers and garbage clearance system can be seen in areas like Bakarganj, Yashoda Nagar, Shyam Nagar, and Jajmau to name few. Also bearing the brunt of the mismanagement of municipal corporation and A2Z are Kakadeo, Lajpat Nagar and Ashok Nagar.

The dumping yards made near GT Road (from Zareeb Chauki to Coca Cola Chauraha) have made commuting difficult for locals. "We are already reeling under the effect of faulty planning of civic authorities with respect to underground sewage pipelines. Potholes and open manholes make it difficult to move safely on city roads. Now, A2Z and KMCs mismanagement in garbage clearance has made things worse," said Rohit Sharma, a resident of Lajpat Nagar.

Krati Singh, another local from Anandpuri said, "It is pathetic that we have to watch garbage lying unattended in front of our houses. The authorities are least bothered about the woes of the public."

It is important to mention here that A2Z workers stopped door-to-door garbage collection in the city three weeks ago. After receiving several complaints, the authorities of Kanpur Municipal Corporation started collecting and shifting garbage from dumping yards. However, KMC workers are also not able to collect all the garbage from the city as they have few vans and other infrastructure required for the same.

"The city generates nearly 1200 metric tonnes of garbage every day while KMC is collecting only 700 to 750 metric tonnes. As 400 tonnes of garbage is getting accumulated every day for the past three weeks, presently, the city has 6000 extra tons of garbage lying around. Lifting this before Holi is a nightmare," said a KMC official.

He added that A2Z authorities have not backed out officially but expressed their inability to accomplish the task. As this burden is now with KMC, it is facing a loss of Rs 1.25 lakh everyday while using its own diesel and workers in lifting garbage from dumping yards.

When TOI contacted Municipal Commissioner NKS Chauhan to seek his explanation on A2Z's halting of services, the official said, "In view of the absence of regular A2Z workers from duty, we have pressed into service contract workers to take care of cleaning of roads and collection of garbage in the city."

He said A2Z has stopped collecting garbage door-to-door and from dumping yards, but is recycling the same at the garbage treatment plant. "We will be a holding a meeting with A2Z authorities to discuss the grievances of locals. Hopefully, something positive result will come out of the meeting," Chauhan said.
Last Updated on Saturday, 16 March 2013 08:34
 

BMC act raises a stink

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The New Indian Express                      16.03.2013

BMC act raises a stink

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been generous towards private firms. It has provided 41 tricycles, meant for waste collection only in wards managed by BMC, to the wards where sanitation work has been privatised.

Seven months back, the corporation had spent close to Rs 12 lakh from its own resources to purchase 200 tricycles at Rs  6,000 per piece.

Presently, the corporation is responsible for sanitation in 20 out of 60 wards in the city.

After receiving a complaint, Chief Financing Officer-cum-Chief Vigilance Officer of BMC probed into the matter and came across the anomaly in the distribution of the tricycles.

According to sources in BMC, 41 tricycles were issued to the private ward numbers 2, 6, 28, 30, 44, 47, 48 and 54. Of the total 200 tricycles, 155 were distributed in 20 wards under BMC and four were kept for other purposes.

Requesting anonymity, a senior official said BMC should not have distributed the tricycles in the wards where sanitation was being managed by private firms.

Chairman of BMC sanitation committee explained that as per the agreement, the private firms should not be given any of BMC resources.

“The idea behind privatising sanitation in 40 wards was to ensure better sanitation since BMC did not have the resources to maintain all the 60 wards itself.

 The municipal corporation is also planning to privatise sanitation in 13 more wards from August,” said the official.

Contacted, City Health Officer (CHO) Chandrika Prasad Das said he was not aware of any such distribution. However, the CHO is the monitoring officer and the tricycles are supplied under his supervision only.

“Everything is not done with my approval or supervision. The tricycles were distributed in the privately managed wards after commissioner’s approval.

The store-keeper at BMC should be aware of the details about the distribution,” said Das.

The Capital generates about 400 tonne of solid waste on daily basis.

 

Plastic menace wraps city

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The Hindu                      15.03.2013

Plastic menace wraps city

Bags of woes:Plastic waste dumped at Mundupalam Road in Thrissur.— Photo: K.C. Sowmish
Bags of woes:Plastic waste dumped at Mundupalam Road in Thrissur.— Photo: K.C. Sowmish.
 
The ban on plastic in Thrissur still remains on paper.

The ban on plastic in Thrissur city still remains on paper.

The Thrissur Corporation had imposed a blanket ban on manufacture, sale, storage and use of plastic carry bags on July 1, 2011, and had warned the violators of stiff penalty including cancellation of licence. The initiative was part of the civic body’s efforts to free the city of plastic.

However, due to slack enforcement and lack of cost-effective alternatives, traders across the city openly flout the ban.

Most shops in the city hand out plastic carry bags free of charge. Plastic waste discarded in dumping yards is not cleared by the corporation. There is also no system in place to recycle the waste.

According to health officials of the corporation shortage of staff and resistance from traders and general public have come in the way of enforcing the ban.

However they claimed that most of the shopping centres and retail chains had stopped handing over goods in plastic bags to customers.

Traders insist that they continue to use plastic bags because the civic body has failed to provide a cost-effective alternative.

The paper bags and jute bags are expensive and there is also stiff resistance against use of polypropylene bags.

According to experts, polypropylene that comes under low-density polyethylene will change the structure of the soil itself. As it looks like cloth animals may consume it. Segregation of polypropylene is more difficult than plastics.

Meanwhile, garbage continues to be dumped in plastic carry bags in the city. As it has been more than a year since the dumping of the city’s garbage at Lalur had been stopped, accumulated filth and plastic waste dot the roads of Thrissur.

The Corporation seems to have fallen short of ideas to find an alternative. To resolve the growing waste management problem, the civic body has resorted to burning of garbage lying on streets.

Sanitation workers roaming around the city with kerosene cans and burning garbage heaped at street corners is a regular sight at night in the city.

Burning of garbage leads to emission of carbon monoxide along with carbon dioxide, say environmentalists. Burning of plastics and PVC produces many produce toxic fumes, including dioxin, which causes cancer, they noted.

Though the corporation had plans to rope in ragpickers to collect plastics from households, there was no initiative to implement the project.

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 April 2013 06:35
 


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