Changing the face of Bidar

It has been named the 22nd cleanest city in the country

---

NABARD recognises Bidar as model SHG district

The town generates 40 tonnes of garbage

every day

---

hygienic:The imported vacuum suction sweeper of the Bidar CMC

Bidar:How did Bidar, that was considered a dirty place three years ago, earn the distinction of being the 22 {+n} {+d} cleanest city in the country? Innovative ideas to achieve cleanliness, people’s participation, and a responsive administration have helped the city achieve it.

Three years ago, there garbage was strewn on the streets and drains were overflowing. There was no concept of door-to door collection of garbage and there were no garbage dumping sites.

However, a coordinated effort by the district administration, the CMC, NGOs and SHGs ensured that Bidar is a much cleaner city now. In the first ever National City Rating by the Union Ministry of Urban Development, the tiny town has beaten cities such as Udupi, Belgaum, Bellary, Tumkur, Gulbarga and Hubli-Dharwad.

The Union Government’s benchmarks were keeping the city free from open defecation; universal access to toilets for all, including the poor; elimination of manual scavenging; wastewater treatment; solid waste and storm water and recycling or reuse of treated wastewater, to ensure improved public health outcomes and environmental well-being.

Bidar has scored on three important areas — primary collection of garbage from houses, hygienic transportation of garbage and sanitary filling in landfill sites. Use of hi-tech machinery for cleaning of roads, drains, night soil pits and lifting and transporting garbage containers has helped.

“Nabard has recognised Bidar as a model SHG district. We decided to make use of it and we outsourced garbage collection and some other specified tasks to SHGs. It has been a huge success,” says Bidar CMC environmental engineer Abhay Kumar Habib. NGOs helped them choose SHGs. Women members of SHGs go door-to-door to collect garbage. SHGs were given 25 auto tippers on subsidy. This ensured that primary collection of garbage was complete within 35 hours. SHGs are also in-charge of cleaning drains, roads and footpaths.

The garbage is stored in dustbins placed in every ward. A trash truck picks up the containers and brings them to a site within the city. Two compactors pack garbage from 20 containers into one truck, reducing the need for movement of trucks.

Bidar generates around 40 tonnes of garbage everyday. The CMC has long-term plans to segregate this garbage and manufacture manure. “Now we are using sanitation fills to prepare manure. We plan to start harvesting very soon,” Commissioner S.R. Garwad said. “In a few months, we will distribute separate garbage bins for dry and wet waste to every household to segregate degradable and non-degradable garbage at the primary level. This will make manure production easier,” he said.

“The journey to fame has been hard and slow. But we achieved it with the cooperation of council members, NGOs and SHGs,” Deputy Commissioner Harsh Gupta said. “We were helped by the Backward Regions Grant Fund of the Union Government. We could buy 19 vehicles and other high tech equipment costing around Rs. 2.5 crore using the grant,” he said. Three years ago, Bidar had three tractors and two small trucks. Now, it has 40 containers, four dumper placers, 30 auto tippers, a nala cleaning machine, an earthmover, 20 mobile toilets, a multi purpose jetting unit that cleans roads and underground drains, and a vacuum suction sweeping machine.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/22/stories/2010052264020900.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu