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Modern waste management system to be introduced in Cachar soon

By ARINDAM GUPTA

SILCHAR, March 27 - At a time when the city of Silchar, the second-biggest urban sprawl has been struggling to find a plausible solution to the burgeoning problem of municipal solid waste management, renowned waste management expert C Srinivasan came up with his �Vellore model� of Solid and Liquid Resource Management in Silchar.

Srinivasan, who was invited by the Cachar district administration and Silchar Municipal Board to the two-day seminar on waste management held at the District Library auditorium, said that with a little effort, garbage can be a source of job creation and endless resources.

To motivate the participants, including members from local NGOs and self-help groups, Srinivasan, who is the project director of India Green Service delivered an informative speech on �Garbage to Gold� at the seminar.

Talking to The Assam Tribune on the sidelines of the seminar, Srinivasan said, �the so-called waste is not actually waste, but resource that fetches income. A decentralised process to dispose off the waste is the need of the hour for the city which has 20,000 families within the municipal area together with around 3000 shops and commercial establishments. Engaging members from the SHGs can generate a monthly revenue of Rs 27,000 with a minimum of Rs 3 per day collected from each household.�

Srinivasan, who is also the State consultant on the cleanliness mission, said that it is the people who must shoulder the responsibility to keep their respective surroundings clean, while the Government will extend all possible assistance.

Elaborating on his plan, Srinivasan said that a group of four members with bicycles will be assigned to collect the waste generated on a door-to-door basis from 250 families in two shifts every day from the municipal wards. Collection will be carried out twice a day from 7 am to 9 am and again from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

�Those who would be assigned to collect the garbage will visit the same households on both the shifts to collect the organic wastes, including food, which can be sent to the piggeries or cattle-sheds to decompose. There will be unit incharges who have to be matriculates to monitor the proceedings of the groups, two project incharges and one project head who would submit progress report of the activities to the concerned authorities.

After proper training under the SHGs, the unemployed people belonging to BPL families of local wards can step up to work and earn a minimum of Rs 5,000 per month on their own working in their own wards, Srinivasan maintained. Also, the families will be given receipts of the fees they will pay for disposing off their garbage every month, he added.

On the other hand, Cachar Deputy Commissioner S Vishwanathan said that Cachar will be the first district to start such a pattern of garbage collection.

�We hope there will be no waste bins across the city since the garbage will be collected from each home and shops twice a day. People must extend cooperation towards this mission,� the Deputy Commissioner said.Development of tourism sector in Sonitpur district stressed

Correspondent

Tezpur, March 27 - The chairman, Assam Tourism Development Corporation, Jayanta Malla Baruah has said that despite having enough potential in the tourism sector, Tezpur and its adjoining areas in Sonitpur district are yet to make a proper progress in the sector in the real sense, because of improper planning.

The MLA of Nalbari LAC, Jayanta Malla Baruah who took over the post of the chairman of the ATDC taking part in a review meeting held at the Tourist Information office here among the officials from the Tourism Department, members from various NGOs and travel writers after receiving views on how to give a new facelift towards the sector also stressed on how tourism can be popularised among the people thereby making it a way of livelihood for the unemployed people.

It is to be mentioned here that the naturally planned city Tezpur located on the bank of mighty river Brahmaputra which is popular for its scenic beauty and legendary figures like Kalaguru Bishnu Prashad Rabha, Rupkonwor Jyotiprasad Agarwala and Natasurya Phani Sharma besides having many historically important places like the Agnigarh Hill, Chitralekha Park, (Col Park), Owguri Hill, Dalimi Pahar, Da-parbatia Door Frame, Gor-Dowl, Rudra Pod, Mahabhairab Temple, Maithan etc., has been a major attraction for both foreign and domestic tourists. But during the last few years due to the indifferent attitude of the agencies concerned including the district administration and the environment society that is solely responsible in looking after the beauty of the historic city it is fast losing its name and fame.

Expressing strong resentment over the lackadaisical attitude of the department concerned in taking Tezpur forward in the tourism sector, Dr Niranjan Das said before the ATDC chairman that the historically important places in and around Tezpur town are in a deplorable condition following lack of preservation.

�Due to security problems, some anti-social forces indulge in unwanted acts at these places defaming their image for which visitors don�t like to visit these places,� Dr Das said urging the Government to the do needful in this regard.

The Assistant Tourist Information Officer, Bhalukpung said that Bhalukpung has remained an unfocused spot despite its unmatched potential. �An area within ten km radius of Bhalukpung and Tippi area along the Assam and Arunachal border could be highlighted as a monsoon tourism spot based on its water falls and scenic natural beauty etc.� he said.

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