Benefits of solid waste management stressed

Udhagamandalam: Effective management of municipal solid waste will help the society in many ways, said Khadi Board Minister K.Ramachandran here on Friday.

Inaugurating a training programme on Municipal Solid Waste Management organised by the district administration and the Environmental Training Institute (ETI) of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, he said that on the one hand effective management would ensure that the towns remained clean and on the other generate income.

In many parts of the State including rural areas, the programme was being implemented successfully. The Nilgiris Collector Anandrao V.Patil said, in his key-note address, that vermicompost production centres should be set up in all the municipalities and panchayats. However, it should be ensured that everything was done only as per the rules and with the approval of the Pollution Control Board.

Pointing out that the Thummanatty, Bearhatty, Masinagudy and Naduhatty panchayats had been selected to receive the Centre’s Nirmal Gram Puraskar Awards for raising the standard of sanitation, he said that others should emulate them.

The solid waste management programme could not be implemented properly without the cooperation of the people. He said that segregation of waste at source was a vital component. Non-governmental organisations and ward level committees should extend a helping hand. Garbage should not be transported in open vehicles.

Pointing out that bio-medical waste should be handled with considerable care, Mr. Patil said that all should ensure that drinking water sources were not polluted. They should be free of industrial effluents. It was up to the local bodies to ensure that only safe drinking water was provided to the people. Stringent action should be taken against those who contaminated drinking water sources. The people should be familiar with building rules.

Training Officer, ETI, P.Saiprasad, said that the Nilgiris had done well in the battle against plastics and expressed the hope that the efforts would be sustained. Director, ETI, A.Palaniswamy, welcomed the gathering.