The Hindu 13.08.2012
Two hamlets show road to better solid waste management
P.V.Srividya
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.
