One of the biggest dumpyards in the heart of Kerala's capital has now been fully cleaned up.
2015 began on a happy note for residents of Thiruvananthapuram. One of the biggest dumpyards in the heart of Kerala's capital has now been fully cleaned up. And with aerobic bins and other organic waste management techniques like bio-gas plants in place in households and communities, four wards have now been declared "clean" by the municipal corporation.
"60% of households will manage organic waste at source. We have set up ward level plants, so excess waste from public places can be treated here. Organic waste will get treated in the wards itself and the next step is organic farming. Now we have to focus of reducing waste," said Shibu Nair from NGO Thanal, which is providing the technical assistance in the project.
The CPM-ruled corporation also claims that by mid-2015, no waste from Thiruvananthapuram will be outsourced for treatment or left untreated.
But these efforts which come just months before the local body elections, have been slammed by the Opposition. "How can wards be declared as clean wards, until we wait for three months? For four years they knew things were going wrong, Villapilshala was absolutely wrong but they slept over the issue until now," said PK Venugopal, chairman of Trivandrum Development Council and Kerala Congress leader.
The CPM, meanwhile, is confident. "People are going to be judging who is governing, whether local civic body or state government, by what they do and not what they profess. Here we are doing it and people will recognise it. All political parties are welcome to enter competitive politics for the service of people," said Thomas Issac, a CPM legislator.
But despite the political blame game, people are only hoping for better garbage disposal. "Nothing else matters, for generations we have been suffering. If they can maintain this and keep it clean we will be happy," says Murali V, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram. "If this works out, it is good... if it doesn't, we again don't know what to do," adds Madhu Vishambaran.