Swachh Bharat Mission 2024: Success story of waste management model of Bihar's Muzaffarpur

Patna : Amid several stories of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) inspiring hope and promise of a Cleaner and Greener India, the waste management model of Bihar's Muzaffarpur is turning many heads. It has emerged as one of the success stories of Swachh Bharat Mission worth emulating.

Muzaffarpur's Bishanpur Baghnagari Gram Panchayat, with a population of about 20,000 residents, is drawing the attention of the world because of its unique cleanliness drive. Here, Swachhata means recycling of waste materials and also creation of ample employment opportunities.

The changing face of these villages reflects from the fact that the erstwhile mounds of garbage are now giving way to clean stretches in the gram panchayat.

Muzaffarpur-based artisan Babita Kumari is the force behind this movement as she has successfully steered the cleanliness drive in the Gram Panchayat and also won accolades from the public as well as the government.

In 2023, she was honoured with the 'Swachh Sujal Shakit Samman' award by President Droupadi Murmu.

Waste management, initiated under the Swachh Bharat Mission, is giving employment to as many as hundreds of people in the village, directly and indirectly. About 50 women volunteers are busy turning waste materials into decorative items and cow dung into flowerpots. Some other initiatives include innovation of a new method of forming compost and manure.

Introducing a one-of-its kind technique, long pipes have been installed in villages with ‘kacchi sadak’ to facilitate collection of waste and then turning it into compost. Temples in the villages have also devised a mechanism to turn the flowers and ‘belpatras’ offered to Lord, to turn them into compost.

Babita Kumari, head of Bishanpur Baghnagari Panchayat, said that under the cleanliness program, about 50 women of the village are involved in making decorative items frim the plastic found in the garbage and making flower pots, incense sticks, incense sticks and lamps from cow dung and then selling them in the exhibition.

"Earnings from this are distributed among the rural women, due to which these women earn a good amount and are also becoming self-reliant,” she added.

Bablu Mishra, husband of Babita Kumari, informed about how the liquid waste is converted into compost via nine different methods.

"We have invented pipe composting which is ready in 45 days," he said.

"Apart from the materials made from cow dung, 21,000 earthen lamps were sent to Ayodhya at the time of inauguration of Ram temple," he said.