Cleaner Guwahati with a more efficient Waste Management Program

Cleaner Guwahati with a more efficient Waste Management Program 1. Guwahti and efficient Waste Management Athiqul H Laskar Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, is the gateway to North East India. Situated on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra and surrounded by hills, this city is a fantastic combination of nature, religion, culture and history. Inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people this city is buoyant with activity from early morning till late in the evening. Be it a political turmoil, a commercial negotiation, or a cultural extravaganza, Guwahati is always in the news. With so much activity throughout the year, the pressure is bound to tell on the environment of this city and its cleanliness. On a more pragmatic level this pressure of population on this city has become an area of concern not only for local civic authorities and state government, but for Central Government as well. Accumulation of waste and its disposal is a major worry for authorities in Guwahati. The only way to tackle this situation is through a concerted and dedicated effort involving government departments, environment protection bodies, NGOs, and local residents. The Facts: City of Guwahati with more than 820,000 inhabitants generates more than 300 metric tonnes of MSW (municipal solid waste) collected over a road stretch of nearly 640 kilometres. GMC (Guwahati Municipal Corporation) in an effort to collect, transport, and dispose this MSW from Guwahati city and its periphery is in the process of appointing a suitable developer or operator for establishing an environmentally sustainable and viable waste management system. With a view to improve solid waste management, GMC has got an approval for a grant amount of approximately Rs.3517 lakhs under JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) scheme. This is a national scheme promoted by Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. For effectuating this project IDCAL (Infrastructure Development Corporation of Assam Limited) has been appointed project management consultant by GMC. IDCAL incidentally is a joint venture between GMDA (Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority) and IL&FS, a leading company engaged in infrastructure development in India. Municipal Solid Waste Management as Existing: Existing solid waste management in Guwahati is by and large unorganized. Indiscriminate dumping of wastes, clogging of sewerages, and silting of Bharalu River are major worries of GMC. Bharalu operates as the biggest sewerage canal of this city and carries waste to River Brahmaputra. Silting of this river leads to major drainage problem for the entire city particularly during the rainy season. Low lying areas near Bhangagarh and Rajgarh get flooded after heavy showers. Haphazard dumping of solid waste is a major reason for clogging of drains in this city. Though efforts are on to motivate residents to adopt healthier dumping habits, there has not been much success. Through awareness messages in public media and press, Guwahati Municipality is making every effort to improve waste management system of this city. Appointment of IDCAL by GMC is a positive step towards more efficient MSW management for the city of Guwahati. The Process Involved in Municipal Solid Waste Management: MSW management involves collection, transportation, storage, processing and disposal of solid wastes for Guwahati city. An estimated 350 tonnes of solid waste would be processed per day as per this project. Waste processing, an integral part of this scheme involves compost formation and RDF (refuse derived oil) from solid waste. The RDF thus produced would be used for power generation at Boragaon on PPP (public private partnership) basis. Waste collection includes street sweeping, cleaning of sewerages, and door-to-door collection of solid wastes. This waste is accumulated in secondary collection units and subsequently transported to project sites. Solid Waste Management in United States: Solid waste management techniques in United States are among the best globally. In the US civic bodies work in methodical manners to keep their environment clean and protected. A tidy and pollution free environment is the basic step to good health of citizens. Reduction and elimination of waste, cleaning up of surroundings, protection from hazardous waste, and conservation of energy and nature through recycling processes are the main concerns of waste management in US. MSW management is a process where civic bodies, environment protection groups, industries, and even general citizens work hand and hand for establishing an atmosphere of cleanliness and safety. Management of waste is not limited to any particular group but is a concerted effort that involves schools, offices, institutes and even homes. Your home is the nearest place from where solid waste management could be initiated. Compost could be made in home from your solid non hazardous wastes and used as plant feeds. Your garden is the perfect place for waste management. Using of compost, choosing the correct mower for your lawn are positive steps towards better management of household wasters. Hazardous waste, however, is to be treated with caution. They should be disposed in specially marked containers and kept aside away from the reach of kids and pets. They should only be disposed by hazardous material removal agencies. Your office is another place where you could employ waste management techniques. Recycling of office paper, beverage containers, and newspapers are such processes. For conservation of resources it is always advisable to use two sided printed materials, recycled printer cartridges, and recycled products. While buying electronic items it is desirable to enter into a leasing plan where terms of recycling and reuse are mentioned categorically. Unused food items and leftovers are ideally donated to food banks or the homeless. Setting up a community program is an encouraging step towards creating a more concerned and knowledgeable neighbourhood. Such action groups are actually very helpful is making a community aware of the benefits of proper MSW management techniques. Working up plans and implementing them is a positive way in creating an environment friendly community. If required, instructions are to be enforced to maintain a clean and healthy surrounding. Of all these waste management techniques, if only a small part could be implemented in Guwahati, the entire city would become a much better place to stay. Probable Solutions that Might make Guwahati a much better city to live: The greatest advantage of Guwahati is its marvellous landscape consisting of River Brahmaputra and several hills. A focussed effort towards solid waste management and protection of environment from all sections of the local populace could make Guwahati a greener and fresher city. Keeping roads garbage free is a positive step towards making this city tidier and healthier. Householders should refrain from throwing garbage as per their convenience. There should be a specific time for throwing garbage out. If possible, local civic authorities should ensure collection of garbage from every house at this specified time. There are many cities in India where this method of garbage collection is followed with success. Penalties might also be imposed on violation of such regulations. Rampant throwing or dumping of wastes would also prevent clogging of sewerages and drains. Regulated collection of garbage on all days would also put less pressure on River Bharalu and hence make it more efficient in keeping Guwahati well-drained. Increased awareness, care for your city and a concern for your neighbours are three basic pre-requisites of making Guwahati a more enjoyable city to reside. (Feedback: www.conantinstitute.org.in).