While technology in infrastructure development of the City is riding high  we, as society  cannot develop truly till the time we learn to dispose off waste the prudent way. Radha Prathi dwells on the most neglected feature of any property today, called, waste management.


Very recently, a couple of students who had completed their MBA, went for a entrepreneurial counselling session and were openly disgusted with the counsellors who suggested to them to launch a Waste management plant if they hoped to be in business in the most "happening" area. Though this advice is bound to make any self-respecting post-graduate turn his nose up in the air, perhaps it is time to think how various educated people can turn to this 'untouched' area with a touch of professionalism and run their projects successfully.

In fact, some enterprising management graduates have already launched similar projects in Bhopal. Urban India is choking with the constant influx of population which merges with the mainstream and partakes in all its resources, leaving little to be desired. While housing, transport, electricity and water facilities can be acquired for a price which is a little on the higher side, not much has been achieved on garbage and sewage disposal, both, on the industrial and domestic fronts.

Raising a stink

It is common knowledge that cities generate a lot of waste every single day. Yet, the issue did not raise a stink a couple of decades ago. The local authorities in charge of sanitation and civic cleanliness, managed the job pretty well without much ado.

Now, the same municipality and corporation have thrown up their hands helplessly. Manpower and indigenous technology, used till date, do not seem to help them as efficiently anymore.

The increasing population is the cardinal cause of this pollution. The unexpected growth of the city in alarming proportions, is resulting in constant excavations of roads for electricity, sanitation, new roads and flyovers  not necessarily in that order  adding to the mess and disorderliness of the city. Besides, the constant ongoing construction is leading to a lot of debris, which chokes the drains and sanitation systems, making the best laid plans of the authorities go haywire. Garbage generated in the city, ranges from domestic wastes to e- waste, and there is no charted system to dispose them effectively.

A talk with the city corporation revealed that they (corporation personnel), are filled with dread of the oncoming monsoons, which will hamper their work and open up Pandora's Box for them, when they will have to attend to the non-stop calls of the public to unclog their drains and take away the accumulated garbage. Abu, the corporation office head clerk who has spent twenty years overseeing the duties of road sweepers, said there was no loophole in which his office functioned. He said they had enough hands and had the necessary equipment to do their work, yet the amount of domestic garbage generated by the general public, was humungous to deal with. Such being the case, it is very easy to surmise that the equation between generation of wastes and disposal of the same, stands imbalanced. In such a situation, it is important that both, the common man and the cleaning 'Pourakarmikas', are educated on the rudiments of waste disposal. For instance, the system of door-to-door collection of waste can become more effective if the citizens can segregate waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes, before handing them over to the sweepers.

The garbage bins placed on the roads, are usually dumped with waste generated from hospitals, hotels, markets, party or wedding halls and hardly cleared, sometimes for days on end. While it is the duty of the corporation to clear the bins on a regular basis, the disposer of the large-scale wastes can also put his best foot forward by calling up the authorities and informing them about the excesses that have made the garbage cans overflow before clearance time.

Desperate dumping

Disposal of the waste is done mostly as a desperate attempt to get rid of the garbage for, both, the individuals and the authorities, are convinced that out of sight amounts to out of mind. While the former sweeps out the trash from his home, the city uses neighbouring villages and townships as dump yards. It was a shocking revelation when one officer at the garbage disposal unit, who did not wish his name to be mentioned, said the Corporation had no specific site identified for Solid Waste disposal. Garbage is randomly dunked into dried up village wells and tank beds, uncultivated fields and even used-up quarries. This indifferent approach in garbage disposal will certainly result in contamination of soil and ground water, which can be detrimental to both, human and animal health in the long run.

Time to fine

It is disheartening to note that most people lack in civic sense. Perhaps the government should seriously consider slapping a fine on civic offences, depending on the intensity of the offence. This method will not only ensure cleanliness to a large extent but will also fill the coffers of the Government, which will hopefully venture into new areas of urban development. Of late, the BDA and BMRDA have made it mandatory for apartment complexes to have their own garbage disposal system, by maintaining their own compost pit and vermin-composting to the maximum possible extent, which can prove to be a great helping hand to the city corporation.
In fact, every Class I city has a committee to tackle the problems surrounding the effective disposal of solid waste management as per the directions of the Supreme Court of India.

Despite all the arrangements, it is true that we cannot wipe out the harsh and practical realities that bog us down. If we need our city to become spick and span, we need an educated and systematic approach towards waste management. The corporation can outsource projects to enterprising young people who can set about the task, using the guidelines of the City Corporation and national laws relating to issues of waste management, besides throwing in their own innovative ideas. They can create employment opportunities and lighten the burden of their work. If educated young people do take up this project in right earnest, they can certainly make a difference to the earth we tread on  perhaps the answer does lie in waste management.

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