Tri-Colour Dustbins installed at slums in Berhampur

33% of Berhampur population lives in slums and suffer due to the absence of basic facilities like water, sanitation, housing and a better living condition specifically the children are the worst sufferer. Sanitation is one of the major issues in Berhampur city. The total solid waste generated in the city is estimated to be 160 tons per days and the per capita waste generation remains at 390 grams per person out of only 56.6% (waste collection efficiency) is collected and disposed. Berhampur Municipal Corporation has been allocated rupees 710 lakhs (8.3% of total budget) for garbage collection and solid waste management rupees 450 lakhs (5.3%). BMC is responsible for garbage collection in 18 wards and in 19 wards private parties have been engaged.

The current ‘smart city’ concept provisioned that the local government should ensure segregation of garbage at source. This model will support Berhampur to become smart city and help building child friendly city.

Youth for Social Development (YSD) a local non-governmental organisation in Berhampur has been working to make Berhampur a child friendly city. YSD has formed 24 child clubs in 24 slums and facilitated a children’s federation in the city. With the support of children and slum communities it has trying to make slums liveable for children and protect them harmful environment through engaging with government and civil society.

For the first time in Berhampur YSD has developed and installed a ‘tricolour community dustbin’ featuring intermediate storage of solid wastes from which the refuse is transported to processing or disposal site, easy to segregate at the sources, easy to collection, easy to pour for transportation, child friendly and make the environment healthy and hygiene and are placed at a suitable site. This consists of three types of different dustbins 1. Blue coloured for food wastage, 2. Green coloured for recycle wastage and 3. Red coloured for harmful wastage in Phulasundari Street in ward number 18.

Communities has been mobilized to gather waste in different bins at the community level as per different kinds of waste collected from their home and slum. BMC has assigned to collect the waste from the bin at a regular basis. Child club members and community groups of Phulasundari will monitor the entire system of collection and transportation through the ‘slum sanitation wall’ a monitoring tool for sanitation and report to the BMC health officer every week.

This child friendly environment demonstration model has been inaugurated by the BMC Corporator Ms. Madhumita Majhi of ward number 18. More than 50 women, children and community members and child clubs members have been gathered in this occasion.

YSD has plan to create new child friendly models in Berhampur like Mini Park, Children Resource Centre in slums, child friendly zebra crossing and others in various slums in Berhampur and continue its advocacy to improve the living condition of children living in slums.