Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, SEPTEMBER 12
Parliamentary secretary for Municipal Affairs and Economics & Statistics, R Tohanba on Saturday visited the Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) waste dumping site located at Medi, about 7 kms away from the main town, to inspect the infrastructure development at the spot. The total area of the land allotted to KMC for waste disposal measures about 93 acres.
On the occasion, the legislator underscored that proper attention needs to be given to maintain the area. Expressing concern over the incomplete works at the site as well as the road condition leading to it, he assured to take up the matter on priority.Tohanba also informed that development of the KMC waste dumping zone will also be one of the components of the Kohima Smart City Plan and the hygienic standard of the site will be maintained for sustainable environment.
Parliamentary secretary for Youth Resources & Sports and MTF Khriehu Liezietsu, Municipal Affairs additional director (HoD) Dr. Toshimanen Ozukum, KMC administrator Kovi Meyase, Kohima Village Council chairman Neivor Rutsa, L-Khel chairman Menuovilie Kesiezie and several other officials of the department accompanied the legislator during the visit.
Citizens’ Factfile: Some Dirty facts about waste in India
• About 0.1 million tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated in India every day. That is approximately 36.5 million tonnes annually.
• Per capita waste generation in major Indian cities ranges from 0.2 Kg to 0.6 Kg.
• Difference in per capita waste generation between lower and higher income groups range between 180 to 800 gm per day.
• The urban local bodies spend approximately Rs.500 to Rs.1500 per tonne on solid waste for collection, transportation, treatment and disposal. About 60-70% of this amount is spent on collection, 20-30% on transportation and less than 5% on final disposal.
• Calorific value of Indian solid waste is between 600 and 800 Kcal/Kg and the density of waste is between 330 and 560 Kg/m3.
• Waste collection efficiency in Indian cities ranges from 50% to 90%.
• Out of the total municipal waste collected, on an average 94% is dumped on land and 5% is composted.
• Half of India’s 1.2 billion people do not have access to a toilet. This means more than 600 million people are left with no choice but to practice open defecation (yep, that’s doing one’s business in streets and fields).
• As most kindergartners have been taught, washing your hands with soap prevents the spread of germs. But owing to a paucity of awareness among Indians, only 53 percent wash their hands after defecation, 38 percent wash before eating, and 30 percent wash before preparing food.
• Every 60 seconds, 1.1 million liters of raw sewage find their way into the 1,560-mile Ganges River, a waterway considered holy by Hindus. The river plays a significant part in the lives of locals: As children frolic in the muck, another 400 million adults earn income through the river—from clothes washers to funeral home workers who dispose human ashes in it.
