THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an effort to ensure segregation and proper disposal of waste at polling stations during the local body elections, the Suchitwa Mission, Thiruvananthapuram, has proposed the deployment of Haritha Karma Sena for effectively handling waste. Unlike previous years, in addition to other waste, the authorities are anticipating generation of medical waste comprising gloves, masks and PPE kits at polling booths which have to be handled separately and disposed of safely.
A senior official of Suchitwa Mission district wing said the proposal has been placed before the district collector. The official said Covid-19 protocols have been included in the green protocol for the local body elections. “Haritha Karma Sena is already very active in local body wards and they are well trained in segregation. It would be ideal if we deploy them at the polling booths. The district collector has to take a call. We are hoping to get feedback from the collector today,” said the official.
It is learnt that the State Election Commission has issued the list of officers who can enter the polling booths and the authorities may have to get the permission from the commission before deploying the Haritha Karma Sena for waste management.
A handbook has been released by Haritha Keralam Mission and Suchitwa Mission for the steps to be taken to ensure green elections, thereby reduce the generation of poll waste. “We have to hold the elections in an eco-friendly pattern and we have started distributing the handbooks to political parties, candidates, election officers etc,” said the official. The distribution of food and water at polling centres is another issue before the sanitation agencies.
“We recommend the use of steel plates and glasses for serving food and water which are available with the local bodies. We have done this during earlier elections. We have launched extensive social media campaigns to sensitise public on this,” said the official.
According to sources, deployment of green army volunteers will not be possible this time because of the pandemic and objections. “During the Vattiyoorkavu election, the deployment of green army volunteers during the poll to curb use of plastic kicked up a controversy and we had to withdraw the volunteers from the polling stations,” a source said.
Green handbook
A handbook has been released by Haritha Keralam Mission and Suchitwa Mission for the steps to be taken to ensure green elections and thereby reduce the generation of poll waste