THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Feb 13: Latehar district is to be made a waste-free district by January 26, 2026. Latehar DC Utkarsh Gupta has set a huge task. The task is arduous but achievable. It calls for tremendous public cooperation and coordination with the administration.
A workshop on solid-liquid resource management was held in Latehar on Wednesday. It was an initiative of the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) backed up suitably by the Latehar district administration.
PTR was represented by the Deputy Director of North Division P K Jena. A battery of officers of the Latehar administration joined in along with the elected people’s representatives.
Promoting ‘No Plastic’ and Waste Management Awareness
Sources said Jena is the moving spirit of this mission of solid-liquid resource management. He is batting for ‘No Plastic’ in the tiger reserve asking villagers and tourists to avoid using plastic.
The workshop was graced by the Latehar DC Utkarsh Gupta. Congress MLA Manika Ramchander Singh was there. In resource person was C Srinivasan who is seen as an expert in solid-liquid resource management.
Solid waste of households is varied. It’s paper, plastic, glass, food scraps etc. Similarly liquid waste is domestic sewage, industrial effluents etc.
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Turning Waste into a Resource
Jena told this correspondent that there are waste management tips. It’s reduce, reuse and recycle. All combined together will save the environment.
PTR and the district administration of Latehar have launched a ‘clean and green Latehar’ drive with the target of making the district garbage-free, added Jena.
The novel idea of ‘Solid and Liquid resource management’ which begins with the fundamental shift in perspective of waste as a hidden resource, if used properly and timely, has been communicated by a well-known resource person C Srinivasan, he informed.
Generating Revenue and Employment Through Waste Management
Srinivasan has executed similar projects across the country including Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh. This project will not only generate revenue by upcycling the residues which till now end up in garbage dumps, posing serious challenges to the administration and humans.
Solid-liquid resource management has the potential to generate thousands of local green jobs as safai mitras.
Jena said, “As the dry season comes in, dry and dead leaves get scattered in the towns and villages. They become a menace. People end up burning leaves, causing fumes to pollute the air.”
30 SHG (Self Help Groups) ladies were trained as master trainers to prepare leaf compost beds using minimal input and cost under solid-liquid resource management.
These leaf compost beds can be converted into high-grade manure in 3 months which is set to generate adequate revenue.
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Community-Led Waste Management in Villages
This model will be replicated in all 115 gram panchayats in the Latehar district. Jena said the forest EDC (Eco-Development Committee) will be engaged to collect the leaf litter to convert them to organic manure. It will help reduce and contain the forest fire.
The Lethar DC Utkarsh Gupta has taken up the project involving all the departments as it needs complete coordination of all stakeholders. Keeping clean is no individual’s task. It’s to be of the community.
Deputy Director of North Division of PTR P K Jena would be monitoring the project throughout its execution.
Manika MLA Ramchandra Singh inaugurated the workshop and addressed all the SHG women about the importance of the project and urged the women to take this solid liquid resource management as a mission.
