Waste management major challenge before city : The Tribune India

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Open House: dealing with city’s stink

Waste management major challenge before city

There is an urgent need to phase out garbage dumps from cities. Indore has done a remarkable job in this aspect by removing 13 lakh tonnes of garbage within six months.

Waste management major challenge before city

The problem of solid waste is posing a threat to residents and is raising a big stink as the Jaypee garbage plant is filled with unprocessed garbage and is finding it difficult to take further waste from the city. File photo



There is an urgent need to phase out garbage dumps from cities. Indore has done a remarkable job in this aspect by removing 13 lakh tonnes of garbage within six months. Currently, Chandigarh has around five lakh tonnes of garbage at the dumping ground in Dadu Majra. The government and MC authorities must focus on cleanliness. The city needs to work on sanitation and solid waste management and this can only be done with the collaboration of resident welfare associations. The authorities need to be practical and residents also have to understand their responsibility.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali


Upgrade garbage collection system

Chandigarh can only live up to ‘Smart City’ tag if it does away with individual waste collectors coming on rehris. Two large-sized, airtight and wheeled bins for segregated garbage should be created and collection should be done mechanically in vehicles. 

Col PS Gill (retd)


Proper arrangement for waste disposal

The waste management of Chandigarh is the worst due to the careless attitude of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (CMC), which is run by a private company. The CMC-elected representatives go on study leave, waste thousands of rupees on study tours, but hardly do anything to resolve the problem. The Administration should make a foolproof arrangement for waste disposal. They should create landfill sites to harness biogas and get domestic waste segregated into wet, dry and solid waste. Hospitals, restaurants and slaughter houses should be made to treat their toxic waste at source and only then get it disposed of. 

Capt Amar Jeet Kumar, Mohali


Recycle waste instead of dumping

Managing waste is considered as waste of time. Waste at the source should be segregated properly as per the waste management norms and given to garbage collectors rather keeping outside the houses or at other unguarded places. Also, we should follow the principle of reduce, use, reuse and recycle. The MC should collect and recycle the waste instead of dumping. 

Col TBS Bedi (retd)


Waste plant needs to be upgraded

Mounds of garbage have been piling up in the Dadu Majra plant as MC’s bureaucrats and elected representatives have completely failed to tackle the situation. The FOSWAC team approached the UT Adviser in this regard and requested him to take effective steps at all appropriate levels. The team told the Adviser that the stink emanating from the dumping yard has been affecting the health of the city residents. The plant needs to be upgraded at the earliest. 

SC Luthra, Chandigarh


‘Cleanest city’ tag may go

There is a need to find a permanent solution to the problem. The ‘Cleanest City’ tag of the city may also go if the garbage problem is not resolved at the earliest. The Administration can explore another location for garbage disposal and reduce load on one location. Both locations can be allotted to different firms. High quality incinerators can be put to use and terms and conditions should be made clear and strict enough to deal with the disposal company. 

Wg Cdr Jasbir Singh Minhas (retd), Mohali 


MC did nothing to deal with problem

The Municipal Corporation is not performing its duties well. Even the UT Administration has done nothing to deal with the waste management problem ever since the ‘City Beautiful’ was founded in 1952. It’s really shameful. What do the elected representatives do while sitting in office? Only bragging and gossiping? Are they elected for these undutiful jobs? 

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh


Pollution board shows helplessness

The garbage problem has been getting worse with each passing day in Chandigarh. The Sehaj Safai Kendra paint a dirty picture, the Jaypee garbage processing plant at Dadu Majra has run out of space and has been found violating provisions of environmental, air and water prevention and control acts. The Effluent Treatment Plant is non-operational. Toxin substances such as dioxins and furans are being released into the atmosphere. The compost unit has operational deficiencies. Instead of treating effluents, the JayPee plant has been causing serious pollution. The problem is now compounded with the closure of the animal carcass plant at Dadu Majra, which was disposing dead animals in a proper scientific manner with advanced technology. It was not spreading any foul smell, but political and vote-bank compulsions have made the resting place of dead animals also restricted. Moreover, the PGIMER and the GMCH have been sending biomedical waste to the JayPee garbage treatment plant, which ideally should go for scientific incineration. The Chandigarh Pollution Control Board has shown helplessness in the matter. 

Rajiv Boolchand Jain, Zirakpur


Waste mgmt should be MC’s top priority

It is sheer negligence on the part of the MC that it has not pulled up the concerned agency for dereliction of duty and carelessness. Hefty fine should be imposed on such a firm and if still the problem persists then the contract should be given to a new firm. Many new firms may be trying to get the tender for the garbage disposal. Moreover, the MC should bring transparency in allotting the tenders. Chandigarh is a beautiful city and let us all pledge not to bring a bad name to our city. At present, the priority of the MC should be to lift the entire garbage piled up at Dadu Majra.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi


A blot on City Beautiful

Piling up of garbage is really a blot on the City Beautiful. The Administration should use available resources to the fullest extent to treat garbage and additional machinery be procured in case the capacity of existing machinery is not sufficient to deal up with the issue. The processes in countries such as Australia, the UK, Switzerland and Paris should also be explored and implemented if found feasible to tackle the problem. The residents should also cooperate with the Administration in solving the problem. To ensure cleanliness, there should be a provision of harsh penalty on the violators on the pattern of clean foreign countries. The NGOs must also come forward voluntarily and awaken the public. The corporate world/MNCs/ government departments should also make it a point in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and contribute in this noble mission.

Rajender Kumar Garg, Zirakpur


Develop another waste plant

The solution lies in defining the problem correctly. The Dadu Majra waste management plant started in 2005 has the capacity to process 300 tonnes per day (TPD) of wet waste and 500 TPD of dry waste, whereas the plant is processing only 30 per cent of the total waste against generation of 450 tonnes of waste daily, converting it to refuse derived fuel (RDF) bricks and the rest is dumped unprocessed. Since the JP plant is unable to sell its fuel bricks, it is not investing in the plant upgrade. Its composting plant too is not working as it has failed to enter into a contract for selling compost. As per the municipal solid waste rules, only inerts/non-recyclable are to be land filled, whereas biodegradable and recyclable components are processed for reuse. Mixed waste is being dumped in the landfill without segregation. There is need for scientific capping of the dump at Dadu Majra, which can go a long way in reducing the foul smell. The segregation of dry and wet waste has to be enforced systematically at primary and secondary levels of collection. The UT Administration should consider developing another waste management plant at some other suitable location for redundancy and breaking monopoly. It should plan for RDF-based power generating station on PPP mode.

HR Satija, Chandigarh


Shift plant far away from residential area

The authorities should shift the waste management plant in open space and far away from the residential area. The MC and the Administration should jointly remove all waste material from near the stormwater drains. The authorities should go all out to make Chandigarh neat, clean, green and beautiful city.

Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali


Need for mechanised vehicles

Collection and disposal of garbage should be the top priority to avoid outbreak of diseases in the city. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has failed to handle the issue of solid waste management. The UT Administration should provide sufficient funds for the Dadu Majra waste management plant. It would be more good for Chandigarh, if the Administration contemplate about commissioning of the second waste management plant in the near future. More mechanised garbage collection vehicles should be made available for swift collection of wet and dry waste in order to keep dumping grounds in the sectors meant for garbage absolutely clean. This is the moral responsibility of the elected councillors of the respective wards to raise this pertinent issue in the MC house meetings and explore the workable solution to deliver quality service to the residents.

Bhupinder S Sealopal, Mohali


Open invitation to diseases

The authorities are well aware that if such situation persists, Chandigarh will lose its ‘City Beautiful’ tag. Residents living near the dumping yard are complaining of foul smell and fear that the dump may cause vector-borne and air-borne diseases. The authorities should take steps to solve the problem either by hiring some contractor to clear the waste lying in different sectors or by making some alternative arrangements at the Dadu Majra waste management plant.

Balbir Singh Batra,


MC, plant officials’ coordination needed

The garbage processing plant has run out of space. Heaps of garbage is not only an eyesore, but also pose trouble for residents living in the vicinity as they have to bear with the foul smell emanating from it. Garbage processing officials said that the MC failed to segregate and send wet garbage that reduced the plant performance. The situation had reached the alarming level. Residents of Dadu Majra alleged that waste is being thrown in the dumping ground, but it is not being processed. There is a need for coordination between MC officials and plant officials. The MC Commissioner has assured that backlog will be cleared within a week.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula


Increase capacity of waste plant 

At present, we are shifting waste from one place to another. This attitude needs to be changed. The MC should increase the capacity of the waste management plant. It may ask for aid from the Centre. MPs and councillors of the area should provide fund from their local area development funds. Any other fund of the MC that can be diverted with approval of competent authority should be used to increase the capacity of the waste management plant. If urgent steps are not taken, a mountain of trash will be welcoming people to Chandigarh in the near future.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma


Convince people to segregate waste

The MC should come forward and persuade people through residents welfare associations to dump wet and dry waste in separate bins. This way, the wet waste that starts stinking the next day will be processed through the plant on the same day. More electric vehicles be added for quick collection and transfer of waste to the plant. Another waste processing plant be added in the industrial area. These steps will certainly help the city regain its position in nationwide cleanliness survey. 

Harish Kapur, Chandigarh 


Augment solid waste processing

Chandigarh was planned and carved for a population of 5 lakh. In 2011, the population was 10.6 lakh. With the city population growing by 32,000 people each year, the present estimated figure would stand at 12.30 lakh. This population and other infrastructural growth have accelerated the solid waste generation in the city. This unprecedented solid waste creation has left a big challenge for the MC , which is responsible for providing effective and efficient waste management system, but the authorities have not been able to handle this vital issue. This could be due to lack of organisational and financial resources resulting in accumulation of garbage in each sector of the city creating unhygienic living conditions for the residents. Solid waste management is a big challenge and needs to be given the utmost priority by setting aside adequate funds and resources under a special created management high-level committee. Door to door collection and transportation to authorised dumping site/processing plant be done through covered mechanical garbage vans. Most vital is to augment the processing capacity of the solid waste processing plant, besides planning another processing plant with adequate processing capacity so that the disposal be done on a day-to-day basis.

SS Arora, Mohali


Find ways to convert garbage into asset 

Chandigarh can be litter-free if all citizens join hands. We got to develop a good civic sense, not only to solve the problem of garbage disposal, but also to keep the city clean. How many of us pick up a banana peel lying on the road? Very few. Come winter, and see the number of people spitting on roads and blowing nose in the public, or urinating against walls. Specifically, one of the ways for garbage disposal is by chemical decomposition. In Chandigarh, garbage can be turned into fuel energy and manure. With IITs and so many engineering colleges in the country, why can’t we find ways to convert garbage into an asset? Throwing garbage is not the solution. Recycling and conversion is the answer. Let it be a movement like Amul starting collection from each house and ending up in industrial units. Let’s all keep two buckets in house, one for dry waste, while the other for wet garbage. If the garbage collectors do not turn up, we ourselves dispose it of in a garbage bin on our way to work. Take initiative, do it yourself. Don’t keep blaming others. Thinking out of the box will help. And of course, the authorities have to be serious.

Col RD Singh (retd)


Arrange adequate number of trucks 

I fail to understand why the Administration did not make arrangements for collecting garbage from different places in the city and dispose it of at Dadu Majra. Adequate number of trucks be arranged that can take garbage to the Dadu Majra waste plant.

Tarlok Singh, Mani Majra


Waste management through PPP mode

Waste management involves orderly execution of various functions of collection, transportation, processing, treatment and final disposal. Simple solution may be the management of waste through the public-private partnership (PPP). It would provide integrated solid waste management services with no fee for disposal. 

Charu Malhotra, Mohali


The MC should use high-tech equipment for improving the garbage collection system. The process should be monitored from the household level to the garbage processing plant with CCTVs and the GPS technology. Sanitation workers lift garbage from one place  and  throw  it at another  place  without the fear of being caught. — Ramesh Khandelwal, sector 31 resident


Our City Beautiful does not remain beautiful when it comes to managing waste. First of all, the plant should not be located in the city. The administrations of Mohali, Chandigarh and Panchkula should reach a consensus on having a world-class plant, which should be located at least 50 km away from the towns. — Amanpreet Singh, Sector 8 resident
 

The Chandigarh Administration should take immediate steps to dispose of tonnes of trash piled up at Dadu Majra waste management plant before it’s too late. The authorities should take a lesson from Indore, the cleanest city in the country, where heaps of waste was cleared within a few months. — Surinder Sharma, RWA, sector 15
 

We are giving the entire city’s 450 metric tonnes of waste daily to the firm concerned as per the NGT guidelines, but it is processing only 100-125 metric tonnes of garbage. We are going to take it up with the NGT. We have already floated tenders to engage a firm to clear about 6 lakh metric tonnes of garbage lying in the open dumping ground. — Rajesh Kalia, Mayor
 

The plant is in a shambles. Heaps of garbage accumulated there is emanating a foul smell, making the life of people living nearby miserable. It is polluting environment and has become a major health hazard. No concrete step has been taken by the Municipal Corporation and the Administration to resolve the issue. — Baljinder Singh Bittu, chairman, FOSWAC
 

As we are staying in the neighbourhood of Dadu Majra, where the waste management plant is located, we are the worst sufferers and living in virtual hell. Our area is full of stink, flies and insects for obvious reasons. Moreover, all vehicles carrying garbage pass through our area add insult to injury. The only solution is to relocate the plant. 
Rashmi Sharma, Sector 38 (w) resident

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