What is the long-term solution to the city’s garbage problem? Having a solid waste management plant, composting waste at home or finding new places to dump waste?
Well, the city has no clear-cut answer when it comes to managing the 5000 tons of waste it generates every day. Pallikaranai resident Radhakrishnan Nair has a solution that makes use of “pore space for storing and detoxifying solid waste.” The 74-year-old, who retired as chief design engineer, Heavy Engineering Corporation, Ranchi, says the environment-friendly process has the potential to generate employment and will show results within a year.
As per his proposal, 10,000 cubic meter of solid waste can be processed in 60m x 60m area at an initial cost of Rs.20 lakh. “A bamboo forest has to be raised over the earth cover. A central bore well will pump water from underground to irrigate bamboo. Over a period, this water will be detoxified by natural processes, thus also the sewage,” says Nair. He suggests that around this facility trees could be planted, ponds dug out, and solar lamps could be installed. “Doesn’t that sound like a picnic spot?” he asks
Nair has received letters of appreciation from bamboo experts who have said that his proposal is innovative, he is waiting for a response from government agencies. “There is no complicated machinery, nor is any maintenance involved. All I want is that my idea gets a patient hearing,” he says.
Nair holds a patent for an environmentally-friendly crematorium which uses 2 kg LPG. “In this, the dead are burnt without fumes, dust and smoke in less than an hour. This is being used in some parts of Kerala,” says Nair, showing us letters of appreciation he received from organisations for his innovativeness.
The septuagenarian is in a habit of writing to various departments giving solutions to pressing issues. Ask him why he doesn’t want to get a patent for his solid waste proposal. “I am 74. To apply for a patent, I have to spend Rs. 40,000 and it serves little purpose as I am not marketing it. When I die, I don’t want the idea to die with me, that’s my only objective,” he concludes.
Nair can be reached at 9894533239, 22461549.
