The Hindu              18.07.2013

Segregated garbage collection in Zone IV

District Collector V Sheshadri flanked by GVMC Commissioner M V
Satyanarayana and Lt Commander Parihar along with Vice Chairman VUDA N
Yuvaraj and Additional Commissioner GVMC Janaki displaying the logo of
the Solid Waste Management programme at a function organised to launch
SWM in ward 49 of Zone IV in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. (Right)
Schoolchildren being herded in a garbage tipper of the GVMC to the
programme—- photos: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

The long awaited solid waste management system of the
Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is set to begin from July 24
in the wards of Zone IV. District Collector V Sheshadri flagged off the
campaign for beginning of the much delayed programme.

The
campaign vehicles and door-to-door campaign is being taken up to
educate the residents of the need for segregating domestic solid waste
into dry and wet and dispose them separately.

Mixing
of non-biodegradable waste with the other waste was causing irreparable
damage to environment, the Collector said underscoring the importance of
disposing the two separately. He called upon the residents of the city
to own up the responsibility for segregation and also spread awareness
on it.

Pointing out that the city was often called
the ‘Brightest Jewel on the Coromandel Coast’ he urged the citizens to
help keep the city clean and improve its image in the world. He
commended the officials of the civic body for gearing up to face the
challenge.

The Zone IV has a population of 4 to 4.5
lakh which is equal to the population of Warangal city, Commissioner
GVMC M V Satyanarayana said explaining why solid waste management was
such a mammoth challenge for the civic body.

The
logistics involved in spreading awareness apart from collecting and
disposing the garbage in different locations was huge, and this was one
of the main reasons for the inordinate delay in grounding of the
project.

As part of the campaign, the GVMC is urging
the residents to recycle the non-biodegradable wastes and suggesting
that only segregated waste is disposed of in separate bins that are
being provided by the civic body. This way the solid waste that is sent
to the landfill could be brought down, he explained.

As
part of the planning 285 route maps have been drawn up covering the
entire Zone IV, pushcarts carrying separate bins for dry and wet wastes
have been made ready, he added. Vice-Chairman Visakhapatnam Urban
Development Authority N Yuvaraj, Additional Commissioner GVMC M. Janaki,
a large number of officials, representatives of resident welfare
associations and residents participated.

The GVMC is organising a contest among residents on the segregation.

A
card would be given to the households and the ones who unfailingly
segregate their garbage everyday before handing it over to the garbage
collectors are to get prizes.