Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB/SP)
Udupi, Jul 23: A new hydraulic compact garbage disposal machine bought from Pune had been lying unused here since the last four months. The machine, mounted on a truck, had been acquired with the aim of saving time and energy while keeping the surroundings clean.
The city has only one dumping yard for its 36 wards and this is located in Pragati Nagar village of Alevoor. Five years ago, the dumping yard, which was then located at Beedinagudde, was shifted to its present location, which is about eight kilometers away from the city. Nearly seven crore rupees was spent on acquisition of 22 acres of land here, and six sheds have been constructed for the unit.
Former MLA, Raghupati Bhat, and a number of city municipal council (CMC) and zilla panchayat members had visited Pune on a study tour for this purpose. The CMC here then floated tenders for the preparation of a detailed project report on a waste management plant at this place, but nothing has materialized.
Manual disposal can be both dangerous and time consuming. This machine completes the process effectively and safely. It breaks the plastic waste and roughly crushes this waste. After that, the content is easily accessible and can be manually separated. In the process, the bulk of dust bags, motors, and boards remain mostly intact. The discharge quantities can be optimized to follow the operating demands.
The total cost of the machine is Rs 31,89,000.
The population of Udupi is 1.75 lac and everyday around 40-55 tonnes of garbage is collected from 36 wards. Most of this is plastic; carry bags, and plastic cups. Nearly 59 percent of the waste is plastic and the rest is organic.
The civic workers collect garbage through door-to-door visits and about 75 percent of the houses are covered at present. The remaining 25 percent of houses are scattered and some residents dispose off the garbage produced at their homes in their own gardens. The garbage collectors charge Rs 30 per month per house and more than Rs 60 per month for commercial buildings depending on the quantum of garbage. Self-help group members manage garbage collection tasks in some wards.
This device is robust and has only very few servicing requirements. It uses only a low driving power, is extremely silent, and produces low emission. It also has very low operating costs. It does not emit foul smell because it uses Sumo garbage chemical that aims at healthy environment. At present, the garbage usually takes 38 days to dry, but this machine does it in a shorter period.
CMC president, Yuvaraj, said, "We had called for tenders for operating this machine two months ago. No one has evinced any interest in operating this machine because it requires training. Another reason is low remuneration. If they work as private drivers, they get better pay. Hence, the recruitment process has been stretched."
He also adds, "The CMC here is also trying to adopt Mangaluru City Corporation’s solid waste management model soon, as discussed in the meeting."
A compact machine’s capacity is equal to that of seven lorries. Now two tipper trucks, one JCB, two labourers, and three guards work here.
At long last, this most awaited hydraulic compact machine was inaugurated recently and started its functioning. People of the city can hope for a garbage-free city in future.
Srikanth Rao, former CMC commissioner, assured that once the project report is submitted, the work on setting up the waste-to-energy plant is expected to start but felt that a few more years would be required to install a power generation plant.