Waste management units to have uniform branding across Karnataka

Solid and liquid resource waste management units, set up under the Swacch Bharath Mission (SBM), will be uniformly branded in the state.

Accordingly, uniformity in the painting, symbol, messages written on the wall, vehicle colour, and design of units have been completed in the three gram panchayats under a pilot exercise initiated in Udupi district.

In Dakshina Kannada district, the branding of solid waste management units had been completed in Irebandadi and Kaukradi gram panchayats.

In Udupi district, units at Maravanthe in Kundapura, Kadur at Brahmavar taluk and Varanga at Hebri taluk were uniformly branded. SBM officials from Udupi said the initiative was taken up as part of 'Swacchotsava-Nityotsava' which is observed throughout October, according to the directions of the government.

Each unit was named as ‘Swaccha Sankeerna,’ and the vehicle, as ‘Swaccha Vahini’, for collecting garbage. The staff, known as ‘Swaccha Karmikaru’, will have a uniform. The unit will have a uniform symbol and colour.

In the unit at Maravanthe, located on one-two acres of land at Bhagathnagara, garbage is collected every day from shops and hotels, and once in a week from houses. On average 250 to 500 kg of garbage is collected daily. Varanga gram panchayat also collects 300 to 400 kg of garbage daily while in Kadur gram panchayat, one quintal of garbage is collected daily. All these gram panchayats have been earning income by selling dry waste for the maintenance of the units.

Swaccha Bharath Mission Udupi coordinator Raghunath said of the 155 gram panchayats in Udupi, already waste management units had come up on 113 gram panchayats. A total of 55 gram panchayats are managing waste effectively while the remaining have been collecting only dry waste. The district has plans to complete work on the setting up of waste management units in the remaining 42 gram panchayats by March 2021.