The Hindu 13.08.2012
Two hamlets show road to better solid waste management
Just after dawn, a tricycle with marked baskets for degradable and non-degradable waste is towed through the streets of Karaikalmedu and Kilijalmedu. Two sets of garbage – one in plastic cover and the other in a bin is placed outside each house – based on their biodegradability.
The sanitation workers pick up the garbage, vet the segregation and dump it in the tricycle. The door-to-door collection would continue up to noon, when the dump is taken to the Material Recovery Facility (compost yard). The compost yard is compartmentalised with space for plastic bags and scrap . The biodegradable waste goes onto the compost beds to become nutrient-rich organic manure.
And the same exercise is carried out day-after-day at Karaikalmedu and Kilinjalmedu. The two fishing villages tucked away in the interiors of Karaikal shows a better way of solid waste management . And this they have done without aid or cooperation from the Karaikal municipality.
The idea saw its initiation in the aftermath of Tsunami, when Swiss Red Cross (SRC), an NGO, as part of Tsunami intervention, constructed dwelling units for these devastated villages. The challenge, as in other Tsunami habitations, was to wean fisher folk from open defecation and make them use toilets built within their dwelling units.
What started as a campaign to train fisher folk in the use of toilets in 2008, spilled over to create a culture of sanitation and hygiene in 2010. As a model for complete community participation, the village panchayats stepped in to form Grama Nala Sangam(GNS) to steer the community-driven initiative.
Today, into its third year of solid waste management, GNS – supported and trained by SRC and its local NGO partner SNEHA – is at crossroads, looking for government support. Having helped build a strong institutional community set up for solid waste management, the SRC has proposed to withdraw by December this year.
The three-year initiative has created a sense of participatory ownership in the community especially for women, says K.Vedavalli, secretary, GNS. “Toilets were unheard of in our village as late as 2008, and today, we have come a long way. ”
Significantly, the Grama Nala Sangam, registered as a society, was formed to drive this community sanitation initiative – one that hinged primarily on women’s participation. The community initiative by the GNS has also been judicious. Two tricycles with two sanitation workers each, and a supervisor go about their daily collection.
