Infrastructure is being improved in eight out of 23 town panchayats for an effective implementation of solid waste management in Dindigul district.
The rest of panchayats have already started the project, according to Assistant Director of Town Panchayat M. Rajendran.
The State government has sanctioned funds in a phased manner for implementation of solid waste management in all town panchayats.
We received the last phase of funds for improving the infrastructure like workshed, vermin compost yard and shredding machines for recycling plastic wastes and filtering machine for manure in the eight panchayats.
Facilities were created in 15 town panchayats. Ayakudi and Neikarapatti town panchayats were leading in producing high quality manure, he said while explaining functioning of the yard at Chinnalapatti town to Collector T.G. Vinay here on Tuesday.
“Farmers from Kerala have been getting the entire quantum of high quality manure produced in these panchayats every week. We have developed a model vegetable farm in Neikarapatti compost yard to enable farmers to know the benefit of manure use,” he added.
Chinnalapatti town pachayat has been replicating the Neikarapatti model as its executive officer M. Ganesan is also instrumental in developing the compost yard in Neikarapatti.
With effective solid waste management, Chinnalapatti recycled 5.5 out of total six tonnes of waste generated in the town with a population of around 30,000 and a floating population of another 10,000, reducing unused waste to just half tonne.
But safe disposal of poultry waste became a daunting task. It took much time to decay. But Mr. Ganesan set up a fish pond and started feeding wastes to fish. A rapidly growing fish consumed the entire waste and grew in large size. The town panchayat earned an income of Rs.10,000 through fish sale. His next ambition was to create a vegetable garden in the yard. He had commenced the preliminary work recently.
Each contract worker got an daily wage of Rs.194 a day, said Mr Ganesan.
