Every day, as a bunch of municipal workers sweep the streets of Kumbar Koppal and go door to door to collect garbage, a 75-year-old man keeps an eagle's eye on them. D Madegowda gets up early to monitor the work. "When there is 100% commitment, nothing can prevent you from achieving your goals," he says.
The former legislator began his swachh mission around 15 years ago, when he took charge of maintaining one ward of the Mysuru City Corporation. In the corner of a graveyard, he set up a zero solid waste management plant under public-private partnership. It converts waste into manure using cow dung. The plant now serves as a model for municipal corporations across the state.
Today, the lower middle class neighbourhood in north-west Mysuru is a shining example of civic awareness. Nearly two tonnes of waste generated by over 5,000 households in Ward 28 - comprising Kumbar Koppal, Kaveri Badavane and Mahadeshwara Layout - is collected from the doorsteps and treated the same day. In less than six hours, the streets are swept, garbage is collected and stormwater drainages are cleaned by a group of 28 workers, using three autorickshaws and a few pushcarts.
Read more of this in a report by Lawrence Milton published in Times of India...
(We try to give such stories here so that others can learn and may be replicate it in their area.... Ed)
