Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, September 09, 2010::
Even though the 'Zero Garbage Campaign' entered the 30th day, the state authority is yet to have a permanent dumping site for night soil.
Functionaries of the NGOs collecting garbage door to door since August 2008 following Imphal Muncipal Council(IMC)'s privatization move, are worried about the 'overload' of the existing dumping site.
"Where can we go once the existing dumping site at Lamphelpat is filled-up with garbage", L Joy,a key functionary of Workers Union Manipur(WUM) opined.
"The State authority is yet to give an alternative site".
WUM workers have been collecting 5 to 6 truckloads of garbage from six municipality wards including parts of Imphal's busy commercial area every day while the other three partner NGOs and IMC staff have been covering the remaining 21 wards.
IMC charges Rs 50 per trip from the NGOs.
However IMC authority claimed that the existing Lamphelpat dumping site measuring around 2 acres will last for one more year.
"The dumping site has enough land space.
The area being a wetland,it will last at least a year",IMC's Ex-officio Executive Officer W Bhaktaraj Singh said."After all the Solid Waste Management plant at Lamdeng is likely to be operational by next year".
Imphal city-having a population of around 2.5 lakhs and other non-commercial areas under IMC has been producing around 90 to 100 metric tons of garbage daily.
Four authorized NGOs collect as much as 60 metric tons of garbage covering around 14,500 households out of Imphal's existing 49,000, the remaining is collected by the IMC.
Monthly fee for a commercial area consumer is Rs 100 while for non-commercials is it is Rs.50. Only IMC staff have been collecting night soil at the rate of Rs 1500 per trip as other NGOs are not equipped for the job.
According to IMC sources, on an average 20 truck-loads of night soil are collected every month and disposed at a private land under Lamshang assembly constituency.
No one including IMC officials are not sure of an alternative dumping site once the existing private land is overloaded finding a new site will be a big headache for the officials.
The Ex-officio Executive Officer of IMC is however confident of having it's own area in the course of time once the ongoing Solid Waste Management plant is completed.
But the public asks how the concerned authorities are going to overcome the waste management challenge before the completion of the project.