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There are precisely 79 days left for the common wealth games to start in India. The city seems like it has been ripped apart, with dug up path ways, road construction and construction debris spewed all over the city. A certain gentleman in charge of the commonwealth games in India has claimed that this will be the best games the world has ever seen. Well, two month to go and majority of the projects are running behind schedule, in fact the other day leading news daily reported that the roof of a stadium fell down due to heavy rain and poor water proofing.
Well all things said and done hope fully the city will come out looking better if not looking like a world class city. The major issue that we see is the mess that is created while the construction is going on. The construction waste dumped on side of roads, blocking the drains, dust polluting the already polluted air and large traffic jams caused due to debris taking up road space meant for vehicles. MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) claims that it has placed a world class waste management program in place for the games. The following is the action plan:
• In house vermicomposting for Organic waste
• Complete collection, segregation and disposal system
• Well connected to Government waste treatment facilities (for example construction waste being disposed by Municipal Corporation of Delhi at Gazhipur sanitary landfill)
All looks good on rosy. Three bullet points on the common wealth games site, showing commitment of the government to insure that our cities carbon foot print is minimized. The facts are that Delhi does not have a single waste treatment site that is operational. The fact is that Delhi relies on the unorganized sector and NGO’s to collect its waste. The Fact is that the Gazipur lanfill is not a sanitary landfill site but a mountain of garbage that has collected there over the years, due to unorganized dumping. The fact is that the city does not have a waste management plan in place till this date. Majority of plans are on paper, but there is little or no implementation of these plans and a few private contractors continue to collect and dump waste at the Gazipur dump site which is then scavenged by animals and humans alike.
If the city is not capable of removing construction debris from the streets of Delhi as of now, what would change the situation two months from now? We believe that for the time period of the games the city will hire the help of private contractors to dispose of the waste and then return to the old ways of doing things. There will be little or no treatment done, as vermi composting is not a suitable process for treating large quantities of waste. A model plant may be set up by the government to demonstrate their commitment towards making the games a green event, but this in our opinion this will only be a curtain to cover up the real issues.
The country is hosting the second biggest sporting event after the Olympics, and there is little or no excitement among the masses. In fact there is more excitement, created towards a international cricket match, or even the European football league in a country where football is hardly played. We need to start thinking about why the citizens and politicians of this country are not raising their voices against something so wrong and blatantly in your face. Let us all hope for a miracle so that these games can be one that are remembered as a memorable one and not a miserable one.
Waste Collection, Transportation, Treatment & Disposal System
There are precisely 79 days left for the common wealth games to start in India. The city seems like it has been ripped apart, with dug up path ways, road construction and construction debris spewed all over the city. A certain gentleman in charge of the commonwealth games in India has claimed that this will be the best games the world has ever seen. Well, two month to go and majority of the projects are running behind schedule, in fact the other day leading news daily reported that the roof of a stadium fell down due to heavy rain and poor water proofing.
Well all things said and done hope fully the city will come out looking better if not looking like a world class city. The major issue that we see is the mess that is created while the construction is going on. The construction waste dumped on side of roads, blocking the drains, dust polluting the already polluted air and large traffic jams caused due to debris taking up road space meant for vehicles. MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) claims that it has placed a world class waste management program in place for the games. The following is the action plan:
• In house vermicomposting for Organic waste
• Complete collection, segregation and disposal system
• Well connected to Government waste treatment facilities (for example construction waste being disposed by Municipal Corporation of Delhi at Gazhipur sanitary landfill)
All looks good on rosy. Three bullet points on the common wealth games site, showing commitment of the government to insure that our cities carbon foot print is minimized. The facts are that Delhi does not have a single waste treatment site that is operational. The fact is that Delhi relies on the unorganized sector and NGO’s to collect its waste. The Fact is that the Gazipur lanfill is not a sanitary landfill site but a mountain of garbage that has collected there over the years, due to unorganized dumping. The fact is that the city does not have a waste management plan in place till this date. Majority of plans are on paper, but there is little or no implementation of these plans and a few private contractors continue to collect and dump waste at the Gazipur dump site which is then scavenged by animals and humans alike.
If the city is not capable of removing construction debris from the streets of Delhi as of now, what would change the situation two months from now? We believe that for the time period of the games the city will hire the help of private contractors to dispose of the waste and then return to the old ways of doing things. There will be little or no treatment done, as vermi composting is not a suitable process for treating large quantities of waste. A model plant may be set up by the government to demonstrate their commitment towards making the games a green event, but this in our opinion this will only be a curtain to cover up the real issues.
The country is hosting the second biggest sporting event after the Olympics, and there is little or no excitement among the masses. In fact there is more excitement, created towards a international cricket match, or even the European football league in a country where football is hardly played. We need to start thinking about why the citizens and politicians of this country are not raising their voices against something so wrong and blatantly in your face. Let us all hope for a miracle so that these games can be one that are remembered as a memorable one and not a miserable one.
Waste Collection, Transportation, Treatment & Disposal System
