Vijayawada: Ajit Singh Nagar free from dumping yard menace

Vijayawada: After many years of struggle and suffering, the residents living near the dumping yard in Ajit Singh Nagar are now free from the garbage. Thousands of tonnes of garbage, which had been piled up for more than 20 years in the dumping yard is finally segregated and removed from 45 acres land. As per the agreement with the VMC, the Tamil Nadu based Zigma Global Environ Solutions Pvt Ltd had completed its task and reclaimed the waste by installing bio-mining plant in the dumping yard. The VMC and Zigma company reached agreement more than two years ago for the removal of garbage from the dumping yard by bio-mining, which segregates plastic, earth and other materials. Now, thousands of people living near the dumping yard are free from the filthy smell, mosquitoes, flies. Groundwaters also polluted in the area many years due to existing of garbage.

Zigma Global Environ Solutions had installed plants and reclaimed the dump sites completely in Kumbakonam, Sembakkam, Pammal and Poonamallee in Chennai and Erode-Vairapalayam, all in Tamil Nadu and another 2 dumpsites at Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

The market value of the 45 acres land is estimated at Rs 650 crore. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation has built several hundred houses in Ajit Singh Nagar under the JNNURM. Several hundred houses are yet to be occupied by beneficiaries. The VMC allotted the contract works for Rs 25.75 crore to Zigma Global Environ Solutions for setting up of plant and reclaiming work.

Of the 45 acres land reclaimed from the dumping yard, five acres land was converted into a construction and demolition waste facility, two acres for a plastic waste management facility, two acres for a waste to compost processing facility, five acres for a farmers produce market and five acres for a children's park.

A total of 3,05,897 tonnes of waste has been processed, segregated and disposed. The total 'Refuse Derived Plastics' sent to cement companies was 47,212 tonnes. The Zigma, in a press release on Thursday announced that similar plants were set up at Tirupati and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Nagpur in Maharashtra, Noida (3rd project) in Uttar Pradesh and Vadodara in Gujarat.

The dumpsite during the bio-mining process and subsequent to the complete reclamation had been visited by quite a number of dignitaries from Swacch Bharath Mission, Supreme Court Panel for Solid Waste Management, National Green Tribunal, Scientists/Researchers from Central and State Universities, Central and State Ministers, Bureaucrats and media persons. Most of them were very keen in learning about the bio-mining process and also were equally keen in implementing similar projects to clear the dumpsites at various cities of the country.

On the other hand, the VMC has decided to construct a mega park in the site at a cost of Rs 10 crore and now decks cleared to speed up the process for construction of the beautiful park.