Bodhana, social service arm of the Thiruvalla Archdiocese of Malankara Catholic Church, has proposed a people-friendly waste disposal scheme for Thiruvalla municipality and adjoining grama panchayats.
The proposal submitted to the municipal chairman, Cherian Polachirackal, stressed the need to make the local people adequately aware of the importance of disposing the waste generated in their own locality in a proper way.
Talking to The Hindu , Bodhana project co-ordinator, C.J. Jacob, said the social service venture was aimed at fighting the pollution menace due to indiscriminate dumping of all sorts of solid waste in the town and to protect the environment. Proper public awareness and education in the field of waste management was a prime necessity for effectively addressing the problem, he said.
According to him, all developing towns in the State were faced with the problem of proper waste disposal mainly owing to non-availability of land for installing sewage treatment plants. Moreover, the State-sponsored plants were not functioning properly at many places.
This, coupled with the callous littering of solid waste from hotels, residential buildings, markets, chicken corners, etc, pose serious environment pollution and health hazard in many parts of the State.
Sewage dumping
The dumping of sewage collected from different parts of the municipality in the heart of Thiruvalla by the civic body itself has been a major issue facing the town since the past few years.
The stench emanating from the filth dumped at the public stadium and in the wetland adjoining the Children’s Park in Thiruvalla town has already evoked strong public protests in this highly literate Central Travancore belt.
Common disposal technologies
Mr. Jacob says the Bodhana project stresses the need for popularising certain common waste disposal technologies among the public thereby reducing the pollution menace in the locality in a time bound manner.
He said Bodhana is planning to supply waste disposal devices like vermi compost pots and portable bio-gas plants, besides launching an effective public awareness campaign with its well-trained volunteer force as part of the scheme.
He said the support and financial assistance of the local self-government institutions was a must for the successful implementation of the project.
The Bodhana proposal includes recruitment of a volunteer core from among the local population for carrying out house-to-house awareness campaign. As many as 1000 shops, 500 institutions and 7500 houses are proposed to be covered in a period of one month, he added.
Legal measures
Mr. Jacob said educating the general public on various methods of waste disposal in their own locality or premises would reduce the burden of the local bodies.
He said local bodies as well as the Health authorities should also initiate legal measures to check flow of waste into public roads and littering of waste in public places.
He said the project also proposed installation of a bio-gas plant at the municipal premises itself.
Mr. Jacob said the civic body chief has shown keen interest in the Bodhana proposal and has agreed to consider its implementation in a time-bound fashion.
