The Hindu : Kovalam zero-waste project to be augmented

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 31, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Others

Kovalam zero-waste project to be augmented

By S. Anil Radhakrishnan

KOVALAM, JAN.30. The work on augmenting the Rs. 71-lakh Zero Waste Kovalam Project, being implemented by Kerala Tourism in the famed beach resort to tackle the tonnes of garbage being generated and to restore the old charm of the destination, has commenced with the removal of the dumped garbage from the private properties.

Along with this, efforts are on to set up two more biogas plants including one near Kerala Tourism Development Corporation's Hotel Samudra, enhancing the capacity of the local scrap dealer and to secure the technology developed by the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to enhance the capacity of the biogas plants.

As many as 103 sacks of pet bottles and glass bottles have been collected so far from the private properties located behind the Light House and Guest House in the work that commenced from January 28 with the support of the local unit of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) and supervised by Thanal Conservation Action and Information Network, an NGO spearheading the ambitious project.

The labourers have removed sacks of cloth waste and garbage dumped into a pond behind the Lonely Planet. As many as 1,200 PET bottles were removed from the pond during the cleaning drive undertaken by the Greenpeace in the beach resort last year.

"We have found 34 dumping yards behind the beaches in these two localities and the removal of the garbage being dumped by hotels, shops and restaurants that do not have scientific waste management system will continue till Sunday. The effort is to bring down the dumping by 50 to 70 per cent," C. Jayakumar of Thanal told The Hindu .

The low resale value of PET bottles and glass is posing a problem. Local traders and owners of dozens of Kashmiri shops have agreed to substitute the plastic carry bags with paper bags. The dumping of the accumulated garbage into the sea near the Edakkal rocks and Light House is also posing problems. The Coast Guard, which has undertaken the cleanliness drive on the beaches of Kovalam recently, is to take up the issue with the shops, restaurant and hotel owners with the support of the local police.

The biogas plant that has been set up near Hotel Peacock is to commence functioning next week. The biodegradable waste from 22 hotels is to be fed into the plant. The biogas generated from the plant can supply power to all the beach lights for four hours.

Mr. Jayakumar said the first phase of the project was expected to be completed by March. Kovalam was to be declared a zero waste destination by 2006 or 2007.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section

Kovalam zero-waste project to be augmented