Experts elaborate on problem of e-waste disposal, mgmt

Bathinda, November 5

The Central University of Punjab (CUP), Bathinda, in collaboration with the Punjab Pollution Control Board organised an awareness programme on e-waste management under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Prof RK Kohli.

The programme was presided over by Prof P Ramarao. He said the programme became a landmark success with the participation of more than 205 participants.

It involved participation of students, faculty members, representatives of industry, non-governmental organisations and government officials.

Coordinator Dr Sunil Mittal, while introducing with the subject of the event, apprised everyone with the problem of disposal and management of e-waste.

Referring to the aggravating role of electronic revolution in various spheres of life, he said the problem was getting its strength from unawareness of people about the disposal of e-waste.

Prof AK Jain while welcoming the participants introduced the main speaker of the day, Er SS Gill from the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

Gill spoke about the functioning of the board in context of e-waste management and handling. Referring to the e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, he said every producer or consumer who has e-waste should contact authorised collection centre.

According to Gill, presently, there are 16 collection centres. The schedule of rules notifies them as collection centres, dismantlers and recyclers.

During his interaction with the participants, Gill explained various forms for annual return, administrative documentation and he shared that due to the lack of awareness on the part of the people, only eight tonne e-waste was collected during 2013 while in 2014, the amount of e-waste increased to 15 tonne.

Dr Tarun Arora, Dr HR Arora, Dr Sanjeev Thakur from the CUP and Er SS Dhaliwal from the PPCB were also present on the occasion. — TNS