BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the Capital needed to adopt a ‘zero’ waste policy and make sanitation a mass campaign in order to become a more cleaner city.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management project of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) here on Saturday, he said special attention also needs to be paid to liquid and electronic waste generated and new policies should be put in place to deal with those accordingly.
“As the Capital is the face of the State, sanitation and civic amenities should be of international standards. BMC should adopt best practices and inspire other Urban Local Bodies (ULB) to do the same,” Naveen said.
The MSW management project will treat the solid waste generated under BMC and Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) at a treatment facility in Bhuasuni.
The State Government has provided 64.4 acres land at Bhuasuni for constructing the treatment facility. The solid waste collected from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack will first be taken to the transit stations in Gadakana and Satichaura respectively.
The vehicle carrying the garbage will be weighed at the new weighbridge constructed at the transit stations. This will be done to ensure that about 550 tonnes solid waste generated by the two cities are collected by the sanitation contractor, Essel Bhubaneswar MSW Limited.
Smart Card Service Starts in City Bus
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also inaugurated the Smart Card facility for the city bus services operated by DTS. The Smart Cards have been priced at `60 and can be recharged with a minimum amount of `100, which will be valid for one month. The base fee of the card was exempted on the inaugural day. The city bus conductors can recharge the amount for the passenger.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Pushpendra Singhdeo, BMC Commissioner Krishan Kumar and Municipal Administration Director Sanjib Mishra were present. Local MLAs Ashok Panda, Priyadarshi Mishra and MP Prasanna Patasani also attended.