Five women, including a member of Balepuni Gram Panchayat in Bantwal taluk, are all set to replicate the Vandse model of waste management in their gram panchayat.
Under the guidance of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat (DKZP) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr R Selvamani, ZP member Mamatha Gatti and Taluk Panchayat member Haider, the Balepuni GP is all set to launch a Solid and Liquid Waster Resource Management (SLRM) unit.
The team of five women had visited SLRM unit in Vandse and after a 10-day training had learnt the nuances of converting waste into wealth.
The team, led by Gram Panchayat member Usha, returned to Balepuni on Tuesday with a new-found enthusiasm to initiate something new in their village.
"The team comprising Nalinakshi, Jayanthi, Kamalakshi, Vijaya and me learnt every minute detail in handling dry and wet wastes during the training at Vandse. We are keen on implementing these good practices. The SLRM unit is also a source of self-employment,” Usha told DH.
Balepuni GP Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) Sunil Kumar said a pilot project on managing dry waste in two wards in Balepuni and Kairangala villages will be launched on December 19. An old building on the GP premises will be used for collecting and segregating dry waste collected from households.
A vehicle will be purchased for collecting waste from households with the help of MLA.
Swacchata Senanis will collect dry waste from the households. The money earned from selling segregated dry waste will be utilised for paying the salaries of the Swacchata Senanis.
The gram panchayat prior to the launch of unit, has plans to convene a meeting of shopkeepers and traders in the GP limits and seek their help in running the unit.
Based on the success of initiative in two wards, the 'Vandse Model' will be extended to all wards, he said.
''Once the dry waste collection stabilises, we will venture into wet waste collection. Before initiating wet waste collection, gram panchayat has plans to procure a cow as cow dung is essential for scientific processing of wet waste'', Kumar explained.