Russell Market to get waste-to-energy plant

Members of the Russell Market Traders’ Association and traders will get a waste-to-energy plant installed at the market by next week.

The market, which houses around 480 shops, produces nearly 12-15 tonnes of garbage daily, out of which seven tonnes are wet waste alone. To minimise the waste and use it towards a productive end, the Association decided to instal a waste-consuming energy generator.

“The decision was made after a meeting on April 2,” explained Mohammed Idris Choudhary, the general secretary of the Association. “All shop vendors were consulted about this new technology.

The total cost of the plant is Rs seven lakh. Apart from the subsidy, the funds we had collected from willing traders will be used for the plant.”
If fed 500 kg of garbage each day, the plant will generate enough electricity to light up all shops within the market. With this eco-friendly approach, the Association hopes to not only help the market become independent of the State energy grid, but also eliminate their growing problem of garbage.

The plan has the approval of the government. “The State government has decided to provide a 30 per cent subsidy for the plant and a company has come forward to help set up the plant,” Choudhary explained. Under the existing system, all shop vendors dump their dry and wet waste in a large garbage bin located inside the market.

Facelift

The market is also due to get a much-needed facelift. According to sources, the entire building will be painted in the next few days. The Association members added that ever since the February 25, 2012, fire at the market which gutted 175 shops, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had refrained from collecting rent from traders, many of whom had suffered massive financial losses in the disaster.

“The Association has collected one year’s rent amounting to Rs 12 lakh from the traders and is ready to pay that sum immediately to the BBMP, as we do not want any kind of problems to persist later on,” said a member of the Association.