Journalism of Courage
The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) is under fire for allegedly violating the environmental guidelines in disposal of waste by failing to segregate it into bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste,which members said,was thwarting the very purpose of introduction of the door-to-door collection for safe disposals.
PCB members said the board was defeating the purpose of starting the door-to-door garbage collections as no arrangements have been put in place for scientific waste disposal. PCB introduced the house-to-house collection of waste in all cantonment wards last month.
While the segregation was done at the Hadapsar vermicompost site,it is not being done at the garbage collection points during the door-to-door visits of the vehicles, said PCB member Aarti Mahajan. ¿We have also asked for upgradation of the Hadapsar dumping site. At present,from the 27-acre of land but we are only using 9-acre of Hadapsar site for vermicompositing, she said.
Another member Karan Makwani said the members have also emphasised the need to raise awareness among the people so that the segregation of waste takes place. There is need on the part of people for an initiative to seperate the waste into bio-degredabale and non-biodegredabale waste which can later be ferried in the vehicles deployed at different wards. In each ward,one vehicle has been deployed. It goes to different areas for 12 hours a day to take the waste for disposal. Despite the house-to-house collection through vehicles,the waste litters the roads, said Makwani.
PCB health superintendent V S Kulkarni said the cantonment board was introducing measures for the proper disposal of the waste.
