A village in Manipur has gone waste free and has decided to hold an annual festival to promote drive for efficient garbage disposal.
In a move to promote cleanliness and a waste free environment, a village in Manipur’s hill district buys waste to start a ‘dustbin less drive festival’ in the village annually.
This happened at Kaibi village, about 100 km north of Imphal in Senapati district bordering Nagaland when village authority had decided to buy all the dry wastes- such as papers, plastics, sweet wrappers, all kinds of bottles, unused shoes, clothes etc. generated within the village at Rs 20 per kg , for proper disposal.
Thus the village authority buys a total of around 8,000 kilograms of mixed dry waste generated in the village at the cost of Rs 1,80,000 (including transportation and labour charges) and deposited at the village land on December 16. Later the wastes, packed in used cement (plastic) bags, are transported to an isolated place of the village for proper disposal after consulting the concerned authorities.
Considering the historic event in the village and also to attract tourists, they also decided to celebrate December 16 as Dustbin-less Drive Festival every year on a regular basis.
The authority of the village which had been struggling to manage the wastes, despite keeping the dustbins, is also exploring others means to manage the wastes.
The village authority took up this initiative in order to remove the dustbins in the village. The idea is to educate the villagers so that the village can be one of cleanest villages, Pukeho Athishu, secretary of Kaibi village said.
The new way of campaign cum initiative was taken up in the village as part of the nationwide Swachh Bharat campaign.
Kaibi is a village inhabited by Mao community and it is located about 100 km north of Imphal having around 500 houses and a population of about 3000.
Village secretary Athishu further admitted they’ve no immediate plan as of now, but trying to relocate the waste at an isolated and safe place for further disposal. The village authority is planning to approach the district authority and state administration to support the initiative for a sustainable waste management in their area.
Manipur generates around 178 tonnes (100 tonnes in greater Imphal area) of solid waste every day. But according to an estimate, only 125 tonnes of wastes are collected. However there is no report of proper waste management in the hill stations and other villages across the state.