lack of awareness and civic irresponsibility adds to garbage dump. A new concept of segregated waste collection is going to start in the next few months which is unique in many ways and would set high standards of waste management in Bhopal by the BMC, writes Farooq Qureshi
Waste management is a Herculean task with increased population as it requires efficient manpower equipped with new technology and resources to deliver better results. Also it has now become an essential part of our lives as it not only saves from several diseases but also helps in keeping the environment clean and hygienic.
Managing around 700 metric tonnes of waste on daily basis is not an easy task but it could be seen as the failure of the system for a single day on which the garbage will remain lying on the collection containers and on the roadside heaps of dumps.
Mobilising manpower and other resources to dispose such huge amount of waste is done by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, an agency responsible for keeping the city clean and green which is managing the waste management in a proper manner.
Demographically, the city is wide and big, due to which the problem of waste management doesn't seems that big as there are many open spaces which are used as dumping grounds by the residents. In fact, this is a result of lack of awareness and civic responsibility which develops this attitude.
By harping the same string of blaming the Government machinery and concerned agencies for negligence in shouldering their duties could not resolve the problem and for this awareness to keep the surroundings clean and green would help as little effort could yield wonders.
In the 70 wards under the 14 zones of the city in which waste management is handled by the BMC, a contrast could be quite visible in some areas. It becomes difficult to accept that the two different areas of the city belong to the same city as one area would have huge dumps of garbage while the other area would be clean and clear with proper waste disposal system.
Several wards are maintained beautifully but it is not the BMC which has contributed lonely in the process. The residents who want the vicinity more beautiful and clean environment put effort by maintaining proper waste management which starts from one's own house.
Earlier in the year 2007, door-to-door garbage collection system was started with 25 cycle rickshaws and few autorickshaws in the ward number 61 and 62. When the programme was started it was managed by two NGOs but they failed to run the programme and it collapsed after which the BMC started to manage the programme and is working efficiently till date.
A new concept of segregated waste collection is going to be started in the next few months which is unique in many ways and would set high standards of waste management in the city by the BMC.
BMC Additional Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said that the system is working fine and measures for proper functioning have been taken. At present door-to-door waste collection is not provided across the city but would be expanded soon.
Even for any kind of repair of the vehicles deployed for garbage collection the AHO's have been provided with Rs 5,000 as an advance payment.
Kumar said that many countries have started the concept of 'Zero Waste' in which things are sold and which could not be sold are decomposed in the house itself. This is a very efficient system although it will take time to adopt and get functional in the country but at present one of best system to improve the waste management is the 'Segregated Waste Collection System'.
A pilot project of collecting segregated waste collection is a unique way to manage waste in a far better way as compared with the existing system of garbage collection in the city.
The existing system allows the residents to provide all the garbage in a single bag or container which is collected in the same vehicle and disposed at the same place but with the introduction of the new system, waste would be collected in segregated form of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.
The pilot project includes a transfer station which will act as a dumping site and will have separate storages for bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable waste. In the pilot project collection and disposal of e-waste is going to be incorporated.
Arrangements for the waste collection under the pilot project are under process. Vehicles with bipartition compartments have been procured.
Kumar pointed that the scattered residential areas have abundant spaces to dump the garbage and it could be observed that the dense residential areas are cleaner when compared with the colonies with open spaces but it could be not be taken as a criteria to escape from keeping the city clean and green and the BMC works round the clock to maintain cleanliness in the city.
In-charge of door-to-door pilot project Rakesh Sharma informed that around 2,500 families are going to be benefited in the pilot project. The BMC is going to provide 5,000 garbage bins.
Sharma said that for the pilot project ward 55 has been chosen and there is reason behind the selection. Earlier when the door-to-door system was started it received great response and 100 per cent success rate was registered in the ward which prompted the initiation of the project with this ward.
The residents would be provided with two different coloured garbage bins. Non-bio-degradable waste would be collected in blue coloured garbage bin while green coloured garbage bin is meant for bio-degradable waste and the vehicles collecting the waste would be having two compartments for bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable waste which could not require segregation.
At present, around 2.25 lakh houses are covered under the door-to-door waste collection facility and Sharma confirmed that the he monitors around 60,000-70,000 houses on daily basis.
Cycle rickshaws covers around 300-400 houses whereas at the same time autorickshaw covers 700-800 houses which doubles the productivity. In the existing system around 550 cycle rickshaws are operating.
However, the time period for which the pilot project would be monitored and would be implemented in other areas is not fixed yet but still the project raises hope of a eco-friendly waste management system for the city.