JOIN USGP hopes to strike gold with manure
Laila Gold is manure produced using the waste collected from Laila, a GP in Belthangady taluk. Once the fertiliser hits the market, it will be the first time manure is produced and marketed as a community programme and Laila will be the first GP in the State to produce manure in such a way.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Laila Panchayat Development Officer Prakash Shetty said the panchayat started producing fertiliser in March, using the Nirmal Gram Puraskar Award money. With improvisation from time to time, four quintals of fertilisers ready as of now.
“We had the challenge of sustaining the Total Sanitation Campaign. Solid waste management was one of the biggest challenges before us and production of fertiliser, according to us, was the best way out,” said Total Sanitation Officer Manjula adding that the people dump the waste into dustbins kept at various points in the GP.
The waste is brought to the production unit and a set of workers segragates the waste.
The degradable waste is left in the pits for 45 days with various kinds of treatment. At the end of 45 days, the dry powdered manure is ready to be packed for sale. The workers of GP have already manufactured 100 bags of 50 kg manure each at its unit located on one acre of land in Laila.
A sample of the product has been sent to Bhagiratha Samsthe, Mysore, an NGO working on sanitation and hygiene, to check on the contents of the fertilisers so that the information can be printed on the of the product. The report is expected to arrive at the ZP in two days. The lab has ascertained the percentage of main contents including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N:P:K) in the manure. The GP is working on designing the packet. At present, the unit receives four mini truck-loads of waste weighing about two tonnes from the village. The GP has plans to collect waste from neighbouring villages too.
However, Manjula said the greatest challenge before the GP was the segregation of waste at the source.
The product is expected to be launched by May-end. Manjula said that with the transfer of CEO P Shivshankar, the conceiver of the plan, the launch of the product may be delayed. However, with Minister for Rural Development Jagadish Shettar expected to visit the region soon, the ZP is thinking of launching ‘Laila Gold’ in his presence.