GUWAHATI: In order to achieve efficient household waste management in the historic town of Sivasagar in eastern Assam, a process has been initiated to segregate the garbage into wet and dry wastes at the source during door-to-door collection.
Deputy Commissioner of Sivasagar district, Dr. MS Lakshmi Priya inaugurated the door-to-door collection of segregated wastes on Friday at Sivasagar Municipal Board (SMB) water supply project campus at Phukan Nagar in the town.
The door-to-door collection of garbage (segregated) initiated by the Assam State Livelihood Mission (DAY- NULM) under Sivasagar Municipal Board in association with Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) will be implemented through the Women SHGs.
The initiative began on Friday at Ward No. 10 and 14 under Sivasagar Municipal Board.
Addressing the gathering, the Deputy Commissioner elaborated on the importance of door-to-door collection of waste with source segregation which is the first step towards successful solid waste management.
She appealed all the citizens to start backyard composting or pit composting of the waste generated at their houses and suggested that the waste be kept separately as dry waste and wet waste for efficient management of wastes.
Sivasagar Municipal Board has initially started the door to door collection by engaging the Area Level Federation (ALF) and Self Help Groups (SHGs) of DAY-NULM as pilot project in Ward No. 10 and 14.
The remaining Wards will be covered periodically by engaging ALF and SHGs in coming days, the Deputy Commissioner said.
The Deputy Commissioner also emphasized on women empowerment through the development of sustainable solid waste management by ALF and SHGs.
She hoped that such activity would help women SHGs in generating income to sustain their livelihoods.
The first bucket of segregated-at-source garbage was collected by the Deputy Commissioner herself.
An MoU was also signed between Sivasagar Municipal Board and ALFs/SHGs of DAY- NULM namely Mulagabharu and Janani ALF. Notably, the initiative of engaging SHGs in the processes of garbage collection is unique to Sivasagar district in Assam.
