About getting more trash bins in the city – I have been trying to make some phone calls and sending emails, none getting any response so far. But I didnt follow up on the calls. I was plain scared, to be honest.
And today I get a bit of free time after work. So I finally gathered enough guts and called up the corporation office. A friend had given this link -http://www.corporationoftrivandrum.in/grievance.htm
I had no idea whom to contact so I asked for the Corporation Engineer. He was not there and so the next designation I remembered was Council Secretary. I was feeling ice cold when I asked her how I can get more trash bins in the city. She asked “What?”. But she didnt yell at me. I asked again, this time adding “Who should I approach for this?” and she directed me to the Health Officer.
He didnt answer the phone yet. But I feel good enough to have taken the first step. I dont know if anything would come out of this but I have huge hopes. And there is no point in me telling do this, do that, when I am not ready to do so much as try to find out what could be done.
Will update on what happens after the next call. If anyone has a clear idea on whom to contact for this, please do let me know!
January 5, 2009 at 8:39 pm |
It would be better if you could mobilise the community around you and start a joint effort. Instead of asking the municipality to do things, you can go to them with an action plan based on your requirement including citizen’s participation. Ours is a zero garbage area, achieved together by the residents and BMC. Dry waste and wet waste is segregated at home and processed separately. If these things spread across the city, then you get a zero garbage city.
January 6, 2009 at 10:10 am |
Thank God she did not yell at you…
I recall how I had spend the first week after my wedding at the corporation office enquiring about how to get a marriage certificate. It’s filled with people creating all kinds of bottle necks – most funny one I remember was that I did not have a “SSLC certificate”. Finally on my fifth visit to the place I gave them my 10th standard pass certificate and told them that my school is just a mile away from the corporation office and they can call up and confirm my brith date, they relented… A lot of people there, especially in the enquiry, don’t even know what their job is. And they just know how to shout at people.
The “gana sevana kendram” is actually “gana droha kendram”. The people there really need to learn courtesy. They don’t own Trivandrum after all….
All the best for your venture to talk to corporation officials.
As regards keeping our city clean, we really need to have some system in place for waste disposal. Probably some incineration plants. Since Kerala is a small state and land is scarce there, it is not very good to have waste dumped on the land. Because its easy to keep bins but some one has to clean it and ensure that its empty. And it actually requires a lot of planning for keeping a city clean.
I remember that it was immediately after the “Clean City. Green City” campaign of our then mayor, that we could use our nose to find directions in Trivandrum. Till then I believe that people used to dispose waste within their compounds. But with the high-rises gaining so much popularity in Trivandrum its high time for some action in planning garbage disposal.
Once again all the best to your new venture.
January 7, 2009 at 5:21 pm |
Laurie Baker once wrote a small book on Garbage. (It is published by COSTFORD, the organisation founded by Bakerji and Achutha Menon. Unfortunately, copies are not freely available. You may have to contact COSTFORD itself.) The book gives tips about how to manage garbage. He starts by reminding the reader that, like charity, garbage begins at home. He also gives tips on how people like us and the authorities can contribute to managing garbage. It is written in his won handwriting, with illustrations drawn by him. I would recommend everyone the book.