KOZHIKODE: Karasseri grama panchayat is leading the way in rainwater harvesting in the district through a unique project, which was inaugurated by Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac on Monday. The panchayat has come up with a project to recharge wells in all the 8,326 households at a cost of ₹6.4 crore.
“We are planning to implement the project under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. There will be a plumber and three supervisors in each ward, besides MGNREGS workers to execute the project. The plumber and supervisors have already been trained, and work on two wells is over,” said panchayat president V.K. Vinod.
The Minister also inaugurated a comprehensive waste management programme of the panchayat being implemented at a cost of ₹55 lakh. The project has been designed in such a way that every household will have any one of the various methods to manage biodegradable waste such as biobins, bucket compost, Thumboormuzhi model compost pit, or biogas plant, based on the size of the household and its requirement.
The project is jointly funded by the Suchitwa Mission and the panchayat, while the beneficiaries will have to bear 10% of the cost.
The inoculum mixture used for speedy composting is at present sourced from an agency. However, the Kudumbasree units in the panchayat will soon start producing it, Mr. Vinod said.
Waste disposal
On the other hand, the panchayat will collect non-biodegradable waste, including plastic, from all houses once in three months. Biobins and bucket compost equipment were distributed to 3,900 households in the panchayat on Monday under the first phase of the project.
Incidentally, Karasseri also became the first panchayat in the State to distribute bicycles to all girls studying in Standard VIII.
Panchayat vice president V.P. Jameela and district panchayat education standing committee chairman Mukkam Muhammed were present.
