The people of Mangaluru have been very receptive and positive towards the Swachh Mangaluru concept, and the campaign is gaining popularity as a result, said Ranjan Bellarpady, convener of Mangaluru Ramakrishna Mission’s Swachh Manas programme.
Mr. Bellarpady was speaking at the 149th Swachhata Samparka Abhiyan (cleanliness contact programme) organised at The Hindu here. Ramakrishna Mission initially did not participate in the Swachh Bharath campaign under the impression that people would volunteer for the Prime Minister's initiative.
However, it joined the campaign in June 2015 on the request of the Union government to spread the cleanliness message, he said. During the cleanliness campaign and public contact programme, the Mission learnt that littering in public places was mainly because of the absence of a comprehensive waste disposal mechanism though the city has a door-to-door garbage collection system.
For this, the Mission came out with a pot composting initiative wherein wet waste generated in the household does not cross one’s door and instead becomes rich manure. Mr. Bellarpady noted that a major problem with solid waste management would be addressed if the wet is properly handled at source itself. Hence, the Mission is working extensively in popularising the pot composting system and has plans in the coming days to buy dry waste too from households.
He said Swami Ekagamyananda, coordinator of the Mission’s Swachh Mangaluru Abhiyan, has envisaged the pot composting and dry waste collection system on the premise that if waste generates money, people would participate in such a movement. At the same time, though people were keen on reducing wet waste generation or handling it properly, they had few avenues to do so; pot composting is a good option for them.
Sachin Shetty, coordinator of the pot composting project, said if wet waste is not handled at source, the garbage dumps at Pachchanady dumping yard would grow to become mountains, thereby choking the city’s environs. Pot composing is a tested method where wet waste of the household is converted into manure without any additional cost.
The Mission has already provided about 1,000 units to households, which have reported positive results, and has another 3,500 bookings. The Mangaluru City Corporation too will join hands by providing another 5,000 units. The campaign has to cover all households in the city to achieve the desired results, he said.
Employees of The Hindu and others attended the programme.
