Solid waste management units proposed in 49 GPs

The Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat has planned to set up 49 solid waste managements units in the jurisdiction of the gram panchayats during 2016-17. Ten gram panchayats have already identified land for the purpose, CEO P I Sreevidya said.

Speaking at a district-level water and sanitation committee meeting here on Tuesday, she said the gram panchayats should identify the land for the purpose. All the 230 gram panchayats in the district have been directed to identify at least one acre land for solid waste management units, she stated.

She said four gram panchayats, including Thumbay and Pudu, face lack of space for the construction of solid waste management units.

Bantwal taluk panchayat executive officer said 30 cents of land identified for the solid waste management unit at Thumbay have been encroached and houses constructed on the encroached land have been given door numbers.

The dumping of gabage beside the national highway at Someshwar and Talapady gram panchayat limits have become a menace in the region. Sreevidya directed the gram panchayat authorities to install a CCTV camera on the spot after putting a notice warning people against dumping waste on spot.

Zilla panchayat Deputy Secretary Umesh said land has already been identified at Boliyar, Pavoor in Mangaluru taluk, Pilathabettu and Mani in Bantwal, Aryapu, Golithottu, Hirebandadi, Kabaka, Kaukradi, 34 Nekkilady and Nelyadi in Puttur taluk. The solid waste management units will be developed at a cost of Rs 20 lakh.

Apart from this, the Zilla Panchayat has also sought Rs 10 lakh for each unit under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Zilla Panchayat President Meenakshi Shanthigodu directed the authorities to complete the work on the units sanctioned to various gram panchayats in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Toilet construction

Sreevidya said the work on pending individual toilets will be completed by July-end. The target was to construct 2,800 individual toilets in 2015-16. Among them, 2,595 toilets have been completed. The remaining toilets were included in the work list of 2016-17.

According to the Swaccha Bharath Mission, the gram panchayats have to declare that villages free from open defecation in their gram sabhas.

Accordingly, 150 gram panchayats in the district have already declared as free from open defecation. The target in 2016-17 was to construct 1,406 toilets, of which 455 toilets have been completed.

The zilla panchayat deputy secretary said the tender for setting up a sewage treatment plant (STP) at Kinnigolid sanctioned in 2015-16 has been completed. The estimate for the  sewage treatment plants at Rayi, Mani, Kedila in Bantwal taluk, Kaukradi, Kolthige, in Puttur taluk and Kuvettu and Aladangady of Belthangady taluk is being prepared by the authorities, he added.

DDPI Walter D’Mellow said though all the schools in Dakshina Kannada have toilets, there is a need for additional toilets in 183 schools where the students strength is more. At the same time, when the school is upgraded to composite college and degree colleges are sanctioned, the toilets are not constructed to meet the additional requirement of the students. As a result, a few schools in Dakshina Kannada require additional toilets, he stated.

At the same time, 98 schools in Dakshina Kannada face shortage of water during peak summer. Though water is supplied to these schools by the gram panchayats, the increase in demand for water during summer cause inconvenience.

The DDPI said water recharge techniques have been initiated in over 30 schools in Bantwal, Puttur and Belthangady taluks during this monsoon. The ZP CEO directed the DDPI to inspect the old school buildings to ensure that the safety of the schoolchildren is given utmost importance in the district.