Mysore/Mysuru: A Solid Waste Management Plant was inaugurated at Nagawala Gram Panchayat in Yelwal hobli in the outskirts of Mysuru yesterday by Chamundeshwari MLA G.T. Devegowda in the presence of Gram Panchayat President C. Narendra.

It is an initiative of Hasiru Dala, a non-profit organisation that works for waste pickers and informal waste collectors in selected cities of Karnataka by making their work visible and economically sustainable. Bengaluru-based Ashraya Hastha Trust joined hands with Hasiru Dala in the initiative.

Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) manage the Municipal solid waste in the urban areas, similarly waste management should also happen in the rural areas. To bring into practice a proper and sustainable waste management system in rural Karnataka, Hasiru Dala, in association with Ashraya Hastha Trust, Bengaluru, has initiated the ‘Sustainable Solid Waste Management’ project at Nagawala Gram Panchayat as a pilot project with the support of the Gram Panchayat of Nagawala.

Speaking on the occasion, Devegowda said that the initiative has been launched for effective waste segregation and disposal as followed in the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC). The Plant at Nagawala is a pilot project and will be gradually extended to the other Gram Panchayats, he said.

To begin with, Hasiru Dala has planned all the necessary behavioural change activities for the village residents. In this, the Solid Waste Management Plant shall play a very essential role to manage the waste within the Gram Panchayat. For this, the Nagawala Gram Panchayat has recently constructed a new Waste Management Plant and the Plant is operational now.

Hasiru Dala believes that livelihood generation and social security improvement are two sides of a coin that need equal attention. “We strive to integrate waste pickers into the formal solid waste management landscape through policy advocacy, organising waste pickers and skill upgradation,” said Director of Hasiru Dala R. Anil Kumar.

At present Hasiru Dala manages a few Dry Waste Collection Centres (DWCC) and one Zero Waste Management facility of MCC along with being engaged in raising Solid Waste Management awareness among the citizens.

Director of Ashraya Hastha Trust N.K.A. Sharma, Hasiru Dala Executive Director Nalini Shekhar, Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer H.D. Girish, Nodal Officer Prem Kumar and others were present.