I belong to Kerala and its sad to see the outbreak of all kinds of fevers with the onset of the monsoons. I feel its to do with the mismanagement of the high quantity of waste being generated by the highly urbanised society, that Kerala is now.
One fallout of the highly literate (wouldn't call it educated) society that Kerala is that disposal of waste in the earlier model of dumping in landfills is a thing of the past. With the high density of population, the size of landholdings have fallen which has resulted in most urban plots, at least the new ones, reduced to three to four cents. Therefore, when the Sarkar looks for dumping waste in any corner (Landfill), it is cheek a jowl with someone's prized plot and there starts the opposition, strikes, hartals et al to the idea and it gets shelved. In any case, the landfills in the form which existed at Vilappisala in Trivandrum and which resulted in leachate leaking into the groundwater and the spread of diseases is not possible anymore. Therefore, what is the ground situation now?
The State has totally withdrawn itself from the dirty business of collecting waste. Even in highly urbanised Trivandrum, there is no organised collection of waste and burning of plastic and non-compostable waste is the norm for the normal decent Mallu. It is also the practice followed by the Municipal sweepers. They just collect all the waste at a convenient corner and just burn it. Try walking in the morning and you'll get to see it yourself. The smarter Mallu just packs the waste into plastic bags (which in any case are the bigger part of the problem) and throws it into deserted plots, blind corners of streets, waterbodies and wherever the ingenious Mallu can afford to dispose it off.
One good thing I'd noticed at Trivandrum was that it had two PVC pipes embedded in the ground for disposal of the bio-degradable waste, ostensibly supplied by the Corporation. We used it copiously and also got compost for our little kitchen garden. However, what could we do with the non-biodegradable waste? We found out soon after as we would be deprived off our breath by the pungent smoke from the burning of plastic and such other waste in the neighbourhood. So most decent folk who dont have the courage or the smartness to dispose off waste into somebody else's plot, just burn it!! Now, burning of plastic releases harmful, toxic and carcinogenic dioxins into the air and I wonder whether we have a spell of cancers around the corner from this irresponsible disposal of plastic waste.
Now, coming to the problem of fevers, I feel its to do with wayward disposal of waste i.e. unsegregated waste in plastic bags into corners, empty plots and our waterbodies which decompose partly (only partly as they are encased in plastic) or break and spill out and are a good magnet for flies, mosquitoes and the creepy crawlies, which when coupled with water act as a breeding ground for various microbes which bring all kinds of fevers into God's own country. Thus, the mismanagement of waste is turning God's own country into Waste's own country.
So, what's the solution? First things first. Stop aping the American model of consumption. Its NOT suited for a little state with high density of population like Kerala. So, therefore Reduce, Reuse, Recover and Recycle.
Even if you are the ecologically inclined and carry a clothe bag to the Store, what you sadly realise is that most of the stuff that you buy is wrapped in plastic or something equally fancy, which is a problem for disposal. So, what do you do? If possible, frequent a store which still uses good old paper for packing the stuff you buy. It's possible. I know of a shop near Medical College, Kottayam which does this. I frequent this shop only because of this virtue!! The fact that his stuff is good is an added bonus. As for the plastic waste, we are at a loss as to what to do. That is where I feel the Govt has to step in.
I suggest the following. The Govt should actively promote composting of biodegradable waste within the precincts of the household. For those without the wherewithal to do the same due to the extremely small size of holdings or other constraints, there should be giant industrial scale compostors in every Panchayat where the same can be deposited. As for the non-biodegradable waste, the same should be collected at designated points and fed into projects for use of the same in road construction or for converting waste into energy. If the Govt has to pay the concessionaire in the beginning, so be it, as its a small cost to be paid for the health of your citizens and the brand of 'God's own Country' built over the years.
Its indeed disconcerting and saddening to see the unscientific manner of disposal of waste in a State which boasts of high literacy and whose Rulers had the good sense of investing in Child education and health care in the years prior to independence which has resulted in the State boasting HDI indices comparable to the scandinavian countries. I think the present generation owes it to the future to do the needful and tackle this, failing which cosmetic cleanup of our surroundings are not going to help and we will have to deal with epidemics in the days to come. Jai Hind....
