BHUBANESWAR: More Covid-19 patients in home isolation in the Capital city may have given Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) temporary relief from the growing demand for beds and ICUs but it has posed a huge bio-medical waste collection challenge at the same time. At present, more than 2,400 people are in home isolation but the corporation is able to collect bio-medical waste of around two per cent of these patients on a daily basis.
As per the directive of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the BMC engaged sanitation agency Jagruti Welfare Organisation for collection of waste and Sani Clean Private Limited for its disposal at Tangiapada near Khurda.
Sources in BMC said it was planned to engage four vehicles for collection of domestic biomedical waste and numbers would be subsequently increased if the number of patients in home isolation goes up. However, only three vehicles are currently collecting the wastes in three zones of the city.
The BMC has fixed a payment of `5,750 for each vehicle a day and `75 for each kg of bio-medical waste disposed of at Tangiapada. It had also asked the agency to cover at least 100 houses a day. The vehicles, however, are being able to cover only 40 to 50 households/patients a day, admitted sources from Jagruti.
As per the guidelines, bio-medical waste of Covid patients in home isolation has to be collected through double layered non-chlorinated disposable plastic bags in compliance to guidelines laid down by CPCB. The agencies collecting the trash are supposed to provide the bags to patients for safe collection, transport and disposal.
However, in absence of adequate collection, patients in home isolation are either dumping waste at random places or mixing it with regular garbage collected by the sanitation agency. It has raised concern as it exposes sanitation workers engaged in regular door-to-door collection of garbage.
Jagruti sources also pointed out patients most often mix general waste with bio-medical waste and hand it over to the collection staff. “It causes huge problem as it needs to be segregated again before its disposal. We have been receiving such complaints from our collection staff on a regular basis,” he said. With more 300 cases reported daily, collection of bio-waste from only a tenth of it has emerged as a major crisis seeking urgent attention of the civic body. The situation is worse in slum areas.
Though caseload from slums has dropped compared to non-slum areas and home isolation is not allowed in squatter settlements, sources said, many patients in Salia Sahi, the biggest slum in the city, had stayed in home isolation. “At least three to four persons in our area were in home isolation till last week. They were either dumped bio-medical waste at a place for collection by the garbage vehicle at a gap of two to three days or used to burn it in open,” said Salia Sahi Anchalika Committee leader Jayadeb Nayak.
BMC officials admitted that collection remains less as most patients mix it with regular garbage despite awareness. “This is an area of concern. We have been contacting patients regularly asking them to segregate their bio-medical waste and provide it to the designated van. However, many patients do not practise it,” said Deputy Commissioner, BMC Suvendu Sahu said. Efforts are on to sensitise patients about their responsibility and improve collection of bio-medical wastes further, he added.