KOCHI: To make the activities of Haritha Karma Sena eco-friendly in every sense, the Vadavukode Puthencruz grama panchayat in Ernakulam district has rolled out an initiative that will see the sena members going around in e-autorickshaws for door-to-door waste collection. The autorickshaws will be used by the members to collect waste from households in the panchayat.
Sonia Murukesan, president, Vadavukode Puthencruz grama panchayat, said the two autorickshaws have been bought by the panchayat governing council for the purpose. She said that the aim is not only to reduce the consumption of fuel but also to cut pollution. There are 32 members in the Haritha Karma Sena from the 16 wards of the panchayat. Until now, the waste collected from households in the wards used to be transported to the Vadayambathumalayi Material Collection Facility in a tipper lorry. However, we had to take vehicles on rent after the lorry broke down.”
It was at this point the governing council decided to buy electric autorickshaws.“The panchayat spent `4 lakh to buy the autorickshaws. The panchayat has divided the 16 wards into two blocks of eight wards each. This is to facilitate the collection and transportation of the waste using the two autorickshaws,” said the president. The panchayat also plans to provide training to the sena members to drive the e-autorickshaws.
“The panchayat will be able to pay the sena members more if they themselves drive the vehicle. Another aspect of e-vehicles is that they need less maintenance. The e-autorickshaws are being modified into small pickups to enable the collection and transport of waste. The modification work is progressing and they will be delivered by October,” she said.