The Hindu 04.01.2014
Municipality tests alternative methods to solve waste menace
Warns against littering town; refuse being buried in landfills
With no end in sight to the Vadavathoor dumping yard
issue, the Kottayam Municipality has adopted alternative measures to
contain the problem of garbage accumulation in the town.
The
local body has formed squads to check littering in public places.
Municipal authorities have cautioned that strict action will be taken
against those dumping garbage at undesignated points. In addition, the
municipality has also commenced burning of wastes such as paper and
related articles in a bid to reduce the severity of the problem.
However, the action of the municipality is creating inconvenience for
local residents.
The success of the newly adopted measures depends on
the cooperation of residents. Wastes are also being buried in landfills
as a temporary solution. The municipal authorities have sought the
intervention of the State government to resolve the Vadavathoor issue.
Municipal chairman M.P. Santhosh Kumar met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy
and Transport Minister and local MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on
Thursday to convey the seriousness of the problem. Urban Affairs
Minister Manjalamkuzhy Ali has also been informed of the situation in a
complaint, according to Mr. Kumar. District Collector Ajit Kumar also
submitted a report on behalf of the district administration to the
government on Friday.
According to the municipal
chairman, the local body has done all it could within a short duration
of six months to reduce the amount of wastes transported to the dumping
yard. The daily volume of wastes generated has been brought down from 30
tonnes to five tonnes. While several measures including obtaining
biogas plants have been initiated, many of them could not be implemented
because of procedural delays.
Central funds
He
also said the municipality was likely to get Central funds under the
Urban Infrastructure Development for Small and Medium Towns (UDISSMT)
scheme for two projects soon. It would be provided Rs.180 crore for a
comprehensive water supply scheme and Rs.18.66 crore for a solid waste
management project.
Meanwhile, the municipal
authorities are also pursuing other options being proposed by voluntary
organisations and commercial establishments. Currently, cellular
anaerobic digestion (CAD), a method designed by ‘Litter Watt’, an
enterprise registered with the KSEDM of the Kerala Financial
Corporation, is being tested. For this, around 15 tonnes of wastes have
been stored in a container. As claimed by the entrepreneurs, the wastes
will be converted into biogas and leachate after a period of 20-30 days.