The long awaited solid waste management system of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is set to begin from July 24 in the wards of Zone IV. District Collector V Sheshadri flagged off the campaign for beginning of the much delayed programme.
The campaign vehicles and door-to-door campaign is being taken up to educate the residents of the need for segregating domestic solid waste into dry and wet and dispose them separately.
Mixing of non-biodegradable waste with the other waste was causing irreparable damage to environment, the Collector said underscoring the importance of disposing the two separately. He called upon the residents of the city to own up the responsibility for segregation and also spread awareness on it.
Pointing out that the city was often called the ‘Brightest Jewel on the Coromandel Coast’ he urged the citizens to help keep the city clean and improve its image in the world. He commended the officials of the civic body for gearing up to face the challenge.
The Zone IV has a population of 4 to 4.5 lakh which is equal to the population of Warangal city, Commissioner GVMC M V Satyanarayana said explaining why solid waste management was such a mammoth challenge for the civic body.
The logistics involved in spreading awareness apart from collecting and disposing the garbage in different locations was huge, and this was one of the main reasons for the inordinate delay in grounding of the project.
As part of the campaign, the GVMC is urging the residents to recycle the non-biodegradable wastes and suggesting that only segregated waste is disposed of in separate bins that are being provided by the civic body. This way the solid waste that is sent to the landfill could be brought down, he explained.
As part of the planning 285 route maps have been drawn up covering the entire Zone IV, pushcarts carrying separate bins for dry and wet wastes have been made ready, he added. Vice-Chairman Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority N Yuvaraj, Additional Commissioner GVMC M. Janaki, a large number of officials, representatives of resident welfare associations and residents participated.
The GVMC is organising a contest among residents on the segregation.
A card would be given to the households and the ones who unfailingly segregate their garbage everyday before handing it over to the garbage collectors are to get prizes.
