Garbage recycling plant in Cantt shows the way

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 24

The Solid and Liquid Resource Management System (SLRMS) at the Amritsar Cantonment has set a benchmark for others civic bodies across the state.

Recently, MP Gurjit Aujla and Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu visited the project site to understand the functioning of the plant and how the same model can be replicated for the holy city. The Amritsar Army Cantonment started the project a few months ago and soon the entire area became garbage free.

It has become the first Cantonment in the country to launch the SLRMS on the pattern of ‘Vellore model’ being promoted by an expert C Srinivasan.

Amritsar Cantonment chief executive officer Dheeraj Sonaje said that women living below the poverty line were given special training and sites have been set up to collect dry and wet waste, along with non-biodegradable waste.

He said a team of volunteers recycle and segregate non-biodegradable waste through the principle of composting and mulching for treating the dry waste.

“Over 10,000 people reside in the Cantonment. It took us three months for completing the project which is now generating revenue by recycling garbage,” Sonaje said.

The Amritsar Cantonment was also awarded the coveted ‘Raksha Mantri’ award for excellence under the ‘Swachh Bharat’ mission. He added that adjoining areas have been freed from encroachers and the ‘wall of kindness’ established at the Amritsar Cantonment Park helps the needy people.

Moreover, an open air gym was also set up in the Cantonment Park while a sports complex has been renovated in the Sadar Bazaar.