The city Corporation will organise Haritha Sabha in all the hundred wards on June 5 to assess the progress of the various steps taken for waste management at the ground-level and to create awareness among the public. The meetings are being organised as part of the ‘Malinyamuktha Nava Keralam’ campaign initiated by the Local Self-Government department. Health Standing Committee Chairperson Jameela Sreedharan presented the plan for a cleanup campaign to be organised along with the hairtha sabhas at a council meeting here on Friday.
At the Haritha Sabhas, the need for processing biodegradable waste at source or by handing it over to any scientific, community-based treatment facility and to ensure 100% collection of non biodegradable waste by haritha karma senas, which have now been activated in all wards. All the waste dumping points in all the wards will be cleared and waterbodies cleaned up.
Beach cleanup
The activities as part of the campaign started on Thursday with a beach cleanup drive from Shanghumughom to Vettukad. The next round of kitchen bin distribution has also begun. Trash booms are being installed in canals and drains to ensure that waste materials do not end up in water bodies. More aerobic bins are also being added in various wards. The cleaning up on either side of the highways and major roads passing through the city is planned on Sunday.
Each Haritha Sabha will witness the participation of the respective ward councillor, kudumbashree workers, health inspectors and junior health inspectors, haritha karma sena workers, corporation contingent workers, student police and NCC cadets, residents’ associations and local clubs. The student police and NCC cadets will also be deployed for a campaign against the use of disposable plastic bags by visiting shops and commercial establishments in the city.
A detailed report on the amount of waste generated in each ward and the method used for processing will be presented at the Haritha Sabhas. The condition of the waste management system in each ward will also be assessed, as the aerobic bins in some wards are in dilapidated state. In the council meeting, the councillors of the Opposition – Bharatiya Janata Party and the United Democratic Front – while extending their support for the programme, alleged that the haritha karma senas have been ineffective till now in managing the waste problem.
