The plight of the waste treatment plant at Vilappilsala has made the public highly sceptical about the prospects of such plants in the State. Now, the government intends to educate the people on the efficacy of upcoming garbage treatment projects, and their role in water sanitation, through ‘State WatSan (Water Sanitation) Congress,’ scheduled to be held in the city for three days in March 2013. The congress will be organised as part of the State-wide ‘Nalla Nadu Nalla Vellam’ project, which will be launched soon.
Students, homemakers, government officials, politicians, and voluntary organisations will come together at the congress with a common goal to make Kerala a ‘waste-free and water-safe’ State.
Models of rain water harvesting; groundwater recharging; conservation of water resources; water quality analysis units; units of waste recycling at source; and other techniques of waste management will be displayed at the convention.
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“The ultimate goal of the campaign is to encourage various water conservation methods,” said V. Subhash Chandra Bose, Director, Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU). Suchitwa Mission, Local Self Government Departments, and Jalasree CCDU Water Resource Department, will jointly execute the project.
As part of the project, the period from November 2012 to October 2013 will be observed as Water and Sanitation Year. During this period, one lakh local gatherings will be conducted all over Kerala to discuss the issue. Special grama sabhas, door-to-door visits, family meetings, campaigns on techniques of water quality management, are the proposed programmes. A mobile exhibition unit will travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod.