Will this magic potion check garbage menace

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As part of trying out new methods to deal with the garbage menace, the City Corporation has invited an NGO - Olena Mahila Samajam led by T Sujatha - to experiment with an organic potion that claims to sanitise garbage, killing the odour gradually, converting it into manure.  The NGO members, led by Sujatha, daughter of All-India Democratic Women’s Association leader T Devi, have already sprayed the organic potion at Peroorkada and Chalai markets. According to the NGO members, the organic potion is being successfully used in a biowaste plant in Mysore, which is one of the cleanest cities in South India.  ‘’We have also used it in two panchayats in Iritti block, where also it was found to be quite effective,’’ Sujatha said. The organic potion, a combination of several microbes, is made by mixing one litre of the solution to five litres of water and 100 grams of jaggery. ‘’In 15 minutes of spraying the potion, the odour would subside. And in 35 days, it turns into organic manure. It is very simple to use and leaves no effect on the environment,’’ she said.  Mayor K Chandrika said that she had called up the NGO following the complaints from various quarters and the media regarding the stench emanating from piled up garbage at many places. Especially, the markets. ‘’Let us see if it works, then maybe it would come to our rescue,’’ the Mayor said.  She added that so far, no solution has been thought about to solve the issue by the Corporation or State Government, which leaves the former with no other option but to try out new alternatives.  Green Kerala Bio Sciences is the distributor of the organic potion in Kerala, while J M S Biotech are the technical help providers. Olena Mahila Samajam has been taking idea to various parts of the state, the members said. At Peroorkada, they dug up the already landfilled land using a JCB to spray the lotion. Unlike landfilling, spraying invites little protest from local people, they added. However, the shop owners in Peroorkada and  those staying near the area where the spraying was done said it remains to be seen what effect the potion would have.