The Balepuni Gram Panchayat has started Bapu Solid Resource Management Centre (SRMC) on the model of the Vandse Solid and Liquid Waste Resource Management (SLRM) unit.
The Panchayat has attempted at managing the dry waste collected from households and business establishments.
The unit has already started functioning from a building situated on the premises of the Gram Panchayat office. The Swacchata Senanis at the unit are engaged in segregating the dry waste collected. The waste – like plastic materials, cardboard and paper – is further categorised into 42 types like straw, pens, plastic wrappers, bottles and hair.
The team of five women, who have taken the initiative of the SRMC, comprise Nalinakshi, Jayanthi, Kamalakshi, Vijaya and Gram Panchayat member Usha. They had undergone training at Vandse to learn the nuances of converting waste into wealth. All the women had been rolling beedi to eke out a living. The SRMC has given them alternate employment and dignity of labour.
“People assume all this waste as useless and throw them around. All this waste can become resources to augment income,” Usha told DH.
“In the past, we worked in hospitals. We did not mind segregating the waste collected – it is not dirty. Just as we keep our houses and surroundings clean, we work at keeping the Gram Panchayat clean and tidy,” explained Kamalakshi and Nalinakshi.
MLA U T Khader has promised to help the SRMC in getting a vehicle to collect waste shortly. Donors have also come forward to help the SRMC sustain initially.
As a pilot project, the initiative of collecting dry waste has been taken up in two wards comprising the villages of Navagrama, Theertharakadu, Hoohakuvakallu and Garadipalla in the Gram Panchayat.
As a part of effective solid waste management, the Gram Panchayat, in association with various organisations – including Jana Shikshana Trust, Selco Foundation, self-help groups and Shopkeepers’ Association – have initiated the Swaccha-Solar-Hasiru-water literate house.
The move attempts to promote harnessing of solar energy and greenery in the surrounding areas and giving thrust for water conservation, said Sheena Shetty, director of Jana Shikshana Trust.
The house of Nasir-Jainabu near the Balepuni Gram Panchayat office has been declared as Swaccha-Solar-Hasiru Mane. A solar panel to light two lamps and a mobile charger were installed in the house. The house is surrounded by a variety of fruit-bearing plants.