Dharmapuri civic body to pay Rs 1/kg for waste collected

DHARMAPURI: In a bid to prevent burning of old things on Bhogi, the Dharmapuri Municipality has announced Rs 1 per kilogram of waste materials given by public. The civic body has appealed to the public to hand over trash to sanitary workers and not to burn them.

Bhogi, which is celebrated ahead of Pongal, is considered to be the start of the  Tamil Harvest festival. In order to welcome the new harvest season, traditionally people burn away old objects.  However,  recently, the Dharmapuri municipality  Commissioner Chitra Sugumar requested residents to refrain from burning materials in residential areas. Instead, the municipality announced Rs 1 for each kilogram of waste they provide and asked residents to hand it over to the sanitary workers.

Commenting on the initiative, a resident of Kumarasamipettai, K Parthiban said, “It is a traditional festival where we burn away our old thing to bring in prosperity. However, some people use this occasion to burn harmful items like plastic. So awareness of the initiative could improve the civic body’s efforts to  reduce air pollution.”

R Umashankar, a member of the  Dharmapuri People Forum, an environmental organization said, “This is a  good initiative to curb air pollution The levels of pollution have been alarmingly increasing and during the Bhogi season, there is a high risk of burning toxic substances like plastics. So, strict efforts must be taken to prevent air pollution.”

Municipality officials told TNIE that they have been taking progressive steps to prevent pollution. People can discard the old materials by giving them to sanitary workers instead of burning them. The workers will bring it to our micro compost facility and recycle the waste. People will get Rs 1 for each kilogram of waste they provide. Materials like plastic, electronic gadgets and tires are strictly advised not to burn, they added.