The Hindu : Action Plan to tackle garbage problem

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 23, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Action Plan to tackle garbage problem

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DEC. 22. A high-level meeting convened at the Collectorate under the auspices of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) here today decided to formulate an action plan with the support of the public to keep the city clean.

Presiding over the meeting, the District Collector, E. Ayyappan, said it was the duty of the public to ensure that their premises were maintained clean. The District Panchayat president, Sasikala Sivasankar, mooted the idea of homestead-level kitchen gardens to promote organic composting. The IMA secretary, Sreejith N. Kumar, outlined the details of the action plan. Participants highlighted the need for an efficient solid waste management strategy to prevent the outbreak of contagious diseases.

The District Medical Officer, Shailaja, said the recent outbreak of cholera and dengue fever had necessitated the need for improved sanitation.

The meeting finalised a plan to make each ward self-reliant in solid waste management.

Biotech, a city-based NGO, came up with a proposal to install biogas plants in hotels, commercial institutions and houses.

The Biotech director, A. Sajidas, said that these biogas plants would help to dispose of organic waste and generate energy in the process.

He observed that a plant installed at the Chief Minister's residence was functioning without any hitch.

Christudas, director of Dale View, another NGO, stressed the need for segregation of garbage to separate non-biodegradable waste like plastics and recycle them.

The meeting resolved to take up a mass awareness campaign in the city with the support of residents associations and voluntary agencies.

At the campus level, the campaign will be spearheaded by the Bharat Scouts and Guides and National Service Scheme volunteers.

The meeting invited the public to suggest a name for the programme, which is aimed at promoting health through sanitation. Suggestions can be communicated to the IMA on telephone no. 2463514.

A committee has been constituted to supervise the action plan. The Collector, the Mayor, J. Chandra, and the District Panchayat president will be the patrons of the committee.

The chairman of the Corporation's Health standing committee and the president of the Federation of Residents Associations (FRAT), Thiruvananthapuram, will be the convenors. Dr. Sreejith N. Kumar was elected secretary of the panel.

The IMA president, G. Vijayakumar, the FRAT president, T. A. John, and representatives of various residents associations and voluntary agencies participated in the meeting.

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