Where there's a will there's a way. Bagbera Colony in suburban Jamshedpur has taken the popular English proverb to a whole new level by forming a citizens' club exclusively for garbage management.
From August 15, the monitoring committee of 30 members started collecting garbage from each of the 1,260 households in the colony, sprawling over 1.5sqkm, and disposing it of at a landfill sealed with bleaching powder.
The primary objective is to show the 15,000-odd local residents as well as outsiders that living in non-Tata Steel command areas doesn't mean languishing amid mounds of rotting waste that negligent urban local bodies refuse to remove in time.
Currently, only Tata Steel subsidiary Jusco collects garbage from every door in company command areas while Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) and Jugsalai Municipality continue to hunt for suitable agencies through tenders.
Social worker and president of Bagbera Mahanagar Vikas Samiti Subodh Jha said for long, they had been running from pillar to post, seeking help from the corporate sector and the East Singhbhum district administration.
"Jusco, after several demonstrations, agreed to place two dozen garbage vats, but was hesitant regarding regular cleaning and disposal. So, we decided that self help is the best help. Our committee has 30 members, five each from the six main roads passing through the colony," Jha said.
Every household is required to deposit Re 1 every day or Rs 30-31 as a month's advance to one of the committee members.
"The money is used to pay sweepers and buy bleaching powder from the market. The members have made a one-time deposit of Rs 500 each to arrange for the three carts that collect garbage from every door and carry the same to the landfill site, which is basically a hole dug up near Road 6," Jha explained.
Around 600kg of garbage is collected from the colony every day.
"While five hired workers do the door-to-door job between 7am and 10am, the token fee is collected by members in the evening," Jha said, adding that if the model was successful in the colony, they would replicate the same in five panchayat areas, namely Purbi Bagbera, Uttari Bagbera, Uttar Purbi Bagbera, Paschimi Bagbera and Dakshini Bagbera.
JNAC special officer Dipak Sahay refused to comment on the citizens' initiative, but said they were in the final stages of a tender process for door-to-door garbage collection. "We will commence the drive in JNAC, MNAC and Jugsalai areas within a few months," he promised.
Would you float a similar committee in your colony? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com
