THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ever since the Corporation began talking about decentralisation of waste management in the city, the women in green have been wearing a look of concern on their faces. The women belonging to the 85 Kudumbashree Cleanwell units, engaged in collecting garbage in the wards, were seemingly under the impression that the decision would put a hole in their purse. But the City Corporation has come up with big ideas to put their worries to rest. ‘’No single woman would lose her job, only the nature of her work would change,’’ says S Pushpalatha, Health Standing Committee Chairperson. The local body has decided to retain the units even when decentralisation is implemented. The women would be given training in operating the biogas plants to be set up in various wards by the Corporation shortly. They would be given hands-on training in vermicompost and ring-compost treatment methods too. The Corporation would hold talks with agencies associated with solid waste management on October 11. Once the agency is finalised, training for women would be imparted with their support. Though the Capital City Clean City project might come to a halt, the women would be given newly designed uniforms and absorbed into a new (yet-to-be-named) project. ‘’We have asked the wards to identify places where the biogas could be installed. The women engaged in the project in that ward could collect garbage from houses and treat it in the biowaste plant. Even in the case of houses which might take to biowaste plant on an individual basis, the service of the women could be used, depending on the need of the house-owner. A small amount would be charged,’’ Pushpalatha said. Operating the vermicompost and ring-compost are also not easy affairs, they require time and energy, which the women would offer to houses for a reasonable amount. According to Health officials, they have been receiving the anxious looks and worried questions of the women from various points. In many wards, in the CDS meetings, the women have been airing their concern over the decentralisation of waste management project. It is the Cleanwell units engaged in residential areas that have been more hit by the decision. The units working in commercial areas like Chalai or Palayam collect paper-waste and other items that usually fetch good price from shops selling scraps.‘’Now that we have been asked not to collect waste from flats, hotels and hospitals, it has reduced our income to a huge extent. If this goes on, we would return to our jobless days soon,’’ says a member of one of the Cleanwell units in Vazhuthacaud. There are others who think the Corporation decision would once again open doors to private agencies which collect and treat waste. The Corporation, meanwhile, brushes aside all complaints saying that the women would not suffer due to the new project.
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