SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN HILLY TOWNS

Abstract

Solid waste is becoming a very big problem for India. In the last 50 years the population has increased very dramatically and with that the living standard of the people and in the same way the generation of the waste also. The rules for the management of the solid waste have been in the placed since the year 2000, but any specifications about the hills are still missing. The Central Pollution Control Board is now trying to fill this gap by having research about these areas. The hills because of its geographical condition attract a number of tourist both from India and abroad which gives rise to the floating population and with that generation of solid waste. If the cities in the plains are not in a position to implement these rules and system then it will be unfair to talk about hilly areas. Because of the natural conditions the roads in these hilly areas are sloppy and few areas are at higher altitude than the other areas of the same city. This makes the collection and disposal of the waste a difficult part. Other than these factors the low awareness level of the workers, staff and inhabitants make the situation even worse. The low budget and improper implementation are some other factors responsible for the grim situation of solid waste management in the area. In this thesis the present status of the city of Srinagar has been studied and a number of deficiencies were found like open dumping, improper collection and disposal, no segregation, processing and treatment facilities. Looking at the present condition few proposals have been made and for that all the aspects of solid waste management have been taken into account. In the proposed system the main emphasis is on segregation, processing, treatment and land filling. These few factors really hold the key for any good management system. Moreover this will reduce the burden on the dumping area as the most of the substance will be utilized in recycling and reusing. This may lead to the installation of industrial units in the city for using these waste products as raw material for manufacturing other products. The, author of this thesis work hopes that this work will be taken for reference when the rules for the solid waste management of the hilly areas will be made