THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the absence of a waste treatment plant, Balaramapuram panchayat has come up with a set of measures for convenient waste management. As the first step, six aerobins will be placed in crucial spots in the town. The project is being implemented in association with Suchitwa Mission. The bins will be placed at Shaliyar street, RC street, AV street, Kodinada, Vaniyur street and on panchayat office premise.
The failure of the civic body to introduce kitchen bin in houses early this year has made them focus on creating awareness regarding the new measures in place. While they had trained hundreds of people for supply and use of kitchen bins, barely 50 had come forward to avail the bins and the project fell through.
“We will not be able to have a waste management plant at least in the next few years owing to space constraints and many key projects such as the Vizhinjam port project and highway development is underway. While the waste being deposited in the open has decreased to an extent, the issue of waste disposal is serious. We expect the residents to cooperate with us by depositing waste in the aerobic bins,” said R S Vasantha Kumari, president of Balaramapuram panchayat.
Karthika K, a resident and social worker, feels that implementation is key. “The aerobins are successful models in various corporations and panchayats. We should be able to convince people on the importance of proper waste disposal rather than throwing it in nearby plots or water bodies which happen aplenty. The civic body should give focus in creating awareness.”
The panchayat has a green army which collects plastic waste routinely from the houses and is then carted off to Tamil Nadu as part of a contract arrangement. The waste from the market here as well as the numerous hotels in the junction are now getting disposed in unorthodox ways and the officials expect the move to give them an accessible space for waste disposal.