Open house: Despite holding cleanliness drives, where has the govt failed to address the problem?

Are we aware of our responsibilities?

We all know how to wail and make sure our complaints don’t end. What exactly does Swachhata drive mean? My take on this is that it was begun to sensitise each one of us to be aware of clean surroundings and put in our bit to improve our environment. Till date, the efforts are grossly lacking at the individual level. Waste segregation, which is the first step toward ensuring proper waste management, isn’t being done by all and sundry. Majority of the population still does not segregate dry and wet waste despite tall hoardings in the city teaching the citizens about it. The local radio programmes also emphasise on it but we prefer to turn a deaf ear. As far as the government is concerned, they have been dilly-dallying on the location of site where the waste management project is to be located. It's been more than 10-15 years I think since one particular site was allocated but the local residents, at the behest of local politicians, made sure that the project is stalled. Now what does the Municipal Corporation do? They have ensured that the waste is lifted every alternate day from every household; they have ensured that the waste-picker makes proper partitions for dry, wet and dangerous waste. Is it expected of them to segregate the waste when the household members don't do the needful? We are still tempted to dump our waste in an empty plot in our vicinity, oblivious of the fact that the rotting waste shall emanate a stench which we shall have to bear. Ironic, isn't it? As a nation, we aren't aware of our social responsibilities, the government is definitely at fault too as they haven't been able to set up a waste management plant for a city like Jalandhar when we have innumerable examples of public-private partnerships, self-help groups which have made their cities and villages into zero waste units. The first step begins at home, be the change you wish to see. Make small efforts, put pressure on the political leaders to take firm steps to set up a waste management plant. Create awareness in your neighbourhood about waste segregation, try and ensure your own family members follow it. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, it’s just that this tunnel seems to have meandered from its path.

Manveen Mann

Lack of public initiative hinders

Effective management of waste is crucial for maintaining public health and enhancing environmental quality. The district administration can take proactive measures by establishing a municipal solid waste management plant covering aspects like waste collection, transportation, treatment and disposal through the Municipal Corporation (MC). However, the MC faces challenges that hinder effective waste management, despite initiatives like Swachhta drives. Key issues include the absence of administrative stability, inadequate infrastructure, lack of financial resources, insufficient institutional capacity, and a lack of political willpower. Consequently, MC authorities are accountable for unsanitary conditions and heaps of garbage piling up in public places, parks and streets. The issue arises mainly due to the frequent transfer of officials, the absence of an elected Mayor and councillors for nearly two years due to delayed Municipal Corporation elections, political interference, shortage of sweepers, unresolved grievances of contractual sweepers etc. These factors have impeded the MC's ability to hire alternative workers, deploy machinery garbage clearance, enforce waste management rules and regulations, and penalise to prevent people from littering and dumping debris/garbage in parks, streets and public places. Moreover, the lack of public initiative to motivate the residents to segregate garbage

at source and encourage the use of recyclable and biodegradable materials exacerbates the situation. Nothing significant has been done for the disposal of huge garbage dumps in cities. Consequently, many landfills in cities are overburdened, unscientifically managed, and located near densely populated areas like the one near Waryana in Jalandhar city. The district administration must prioritise addressing these pressing issues.

Kulwant Singh Phull

Improve garbage collection efficiency

Dealing with excess garbage is the main issue and the biggest problem to be solved. It's a tough challenge to deal with excess garbage in the city. If we are serious, it can be tackled with people's cooperation, efficient waste management and effective policies to tackle this problem. The government must increase waste collection efficiency. Deploy more people to clear the waste so that it does not pile up. Frequent pick-up can prevent overflow and littering. It is the duty of the residents also to separate the reusable, recyclable and compostable materials. By this, the overall waste volume will be decreased. It is high time that people are aware about proper waste disposal. It is the responsibility of the government and the people to keep the city clean. It gives a shabby look while crossing as there is hardly any area which is free of garbage. Community programmes can help in spreading the message. NGOs and social service organisations should educate people to minimise the waste. It's really a big nuisance, mammoth problem to be tackled, but the government is not serious. Now, with the change of weather, it will become a health hazard. The foul smell coming from the garbage gives an unpleasant look to the city. The government should be serious on this issue, nothing is impossible if they are determined.

Shashi Kiran

Make separation of waste mandatory

Launched by the Prime Minister in 2014, Swachh Bharat Mission was aimed at providing a sustainable solution to various environmental issues and promote cleanliness. Despite some cleanliness drives held in the past few years, garbage management remains a significant challenge, particularly in urban areas. Therefore, the mission urgently requires a momentum to address the pressing issues of clean environment, soaring air and water pollution and climate change. Upon analysing impediments in the success of policy initiative, priorities have to be laid to fix the vital obstacles in order to attain the underlying objective of the mission. To begin with, lack of proper garbage disposal sites is a major concern, which often results in waste being dumped in open spaces or burnt along roadsides and streets. This not only mars the aesthetics of residential colonies but also contributes significantly to environmental pollution. No doubt, some cities have designated sites for solid waste management, but piles of domestic and industrial waste continue to accumulate in localities and vacant areas due to erratic transportation, causing severe health hazards. Such stagnant waste provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other harmful pathogens, leading to chronic diseases. Further, toxic gases and foul odour from fires at the dumpsites often impact nearby housing societies. Leave aside smaller towns, the situation is not much better even in smart cities with regard to hygiene, traffic hazards and illegal encroachments on roads and bazaars. To tackle these issues, the authorities must adopt a proactive and integrated approach to sustainable waste management. While strict action against violators of traffic norms and encroachers of public places can ease the problem, necessary measures are required to prohibit dumping of waste outside designated sites, and as far as possible, waste disposal facilities must be located away from residential areas. Technological solutions for the efficient collection and disposal of solid waste are crucial. Moreover, it is imperative to introduce mandatory waste segregation at the household level, which not only ensures faster and safer decomposition of organic waste but also facilitates recycling and reuse of various materials. Treated bio-mass can serve as valuable manure for organic farming, providing an eco-friendly solution to waste management. Alongside, unscientific burning of garbage, a major contributor to air pollution, must be strictly monitored and prevented. Civic authorities shall have to maintain a close vigil and implement stringent safety norms to protect residents, especially those living near the waste disposal areas. To make the Swachhata Mission truly effective, a comprehensive strategy combining community participation, technology and strict enforcement of safety measures is essential. Only then can we ensure a clean and healthy environment for all.

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

Eco-friendly waste management

Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal launched the Swachhta hi Sewa-2024 campaign to encourage cleanliness in rural areas. The initiative aims to clear trash and waste while educating people through Gram Sabhas about the dangers of single-use plastics. From October 24 to November 7, a thorough cleanliness and awareness effort was supposedly performed and managed by the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation. This year's emphasis is on handling legacy waste in villages, including garbage and pond cleaning, management of solid and liquid waste, awareness rallies, cleanliness pledges, tree planting, resolutions against single-use plastics, and more. Unfortunately, the drive was practically ineffective as Rajinder Beri, former MLA, Jalandhar Central, alleged that the drive was started only for photo-ops and practically nothing was happening on the ground. "Only photos were clicked, nothing else happened during the drive. It seems that the Punjab Government is doing 'safai' by only talking about it. There are mounds of waste everywhere, city roads are a big proof of this," he stated. The government should look into the matter more deeply rather than just pointlessly announcing the drives. Some steps include: First, making a unified and properly funded garbage disposal system. This includes allocating appropriate garbage collection vehicles and equipment to promote a swift and clear way of disposing of garbage. In addition to this, modern machinery should be used to locate, detect and eradicate all types of waste by either moving it to the dump yards or by annihilating it in an eco-friendly way. Secondly, it is stated that one man's trash is another man's treasure; bio-hazardous chemicals and hospital waste should be donated to research teams and organisations as either a testing product or experiment tool because these chemicals can be used by many emerging and even esteemed scientists in search of something greater, rather than just occupying and harming the streets of Jalandhar. Last but not the least, eco-friendly practices like dividing the waste into three separate bins or the 3Rs should be promoted among the masses in general to reduce the quantity of waste produced. If necessary, hefty fines should be put in place for activities like street loitering or causing any form of harm to Mother Earth. These are some crucial steps towards a more livable and lovable Jalandhar.

Lakshit Jindal

Convert waste into fertiliser

It is true that the mechanism to be adopted for recycling of garbage to fertiliser is in slow process, there can be any number of hurdles in implementing the project relating to the disposal of garbage. In Jalandhar on Kapurthala road, mountains of garbage waste are creating new heights and this pollutes the environment with its foul smell. In Delhi, if we travel by road on the city outskirts near the Ring Road, huge mountains of garbage can be witnessed. What mechanism is the government going to adopt in future because the waste will increase and the height of the dump will go on increasing. The converting of waste to fertiliser should be the priority of the Union and state governments along with the Municipal Corporations so that the organically produced fertiliser can be used for agricultural purposes. In the coming years, due to population explosion, the waste will increase manifold, and where to dump the garbage will be a major question that will beg for an answer. The government should review its policies and release funds on priority basis for the mechanism to be adopted to convert waste into fertiliser.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Segregation at home itself is crucial

Garbage management is still the biggest challenge before the municipal authorities in big cities and the greatest obstacle in the way of cleanliness drive launched by the Centre. A major reason for this catastrophe is perpetual failure in managing the garbage at source. The municipal authorities have miserably defaulted in reducing, reusing and recycling the garbage at their place of origin. The garbage has to be reduced for which segregation should be at the point of beginning. Segregation will decide further course of action as the dry garbage can be reused/recycled through a mechanised process as per the latest scientific method, resulting in a profitable venture. The wet garbage can be treated through various available options for sustainable sources of renewable energy. The cleanliness process in public places need to be streamlined and dumping and throwing trash by the public on the roads or streets should be made a punishable offence. A public awareness campaign regarding throwing the trash in bins and not littering should be effectively launched. There is need to make the whole system of garbage picking, transportation and processing replaced by latest machines for quick and efficient results.

Jagdish Chander

lack of Serious efforts

The authorities concerned are failing to address the problem of garbage mess due to hypocrisy. They are not at all making serious efforts to remove the garbage mess in big cities. Even if they had started on a lesser scale, there would not have been much garbage in big cities.

Sanjay Chawla

Managing waste not just public matter

We are not serious about garbage management. The Swachh Bharat campaign was launched by the Prime Minister in 2019 because he was worried about the environment (cleanliness). Almost five years have passed, but we can't prevent the piling up of garbage in streets and public places despite five years having passed after the campaign was begun. We assume that we are not worried about this problem. We take it as a public matter, which is why we do not take it seriously. If we want to eliminate garbage from public places, we should consider it as our problem. We should take it seriously. We should ourselves clean the environment (garbage). Any official engaged in this campaign should discharge this duty honestly and fulfill the dream of Mahatma Gandhi.

Sucha Singh Sagar

Question for next week

Cases of youngsters getting duped by travel agents on the pretext of sending them abroad are on the rise. What measures should be taken by the administration to curb this menace?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (November 28)