This Ganeshotsav, Mumbaiites will groove to songs about waste segregation too

The move comes after Mumbai civic chief Ajoy Mehta asked officials to not pick up unsegregated waste after October 2

To spread awareness about the need to segregate garbage, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has hit upon a novel idea — tapping into people’s festive spirit, the civic body will ask Ganpati mandals to play songs about waste-management techniques.

Civic officials plan to give each mandal a CD of such songs for the 10-day festival, which begins on August 25. (HT File Photo)

Civic officials plan to give each mandal a CD of such songs for the 10-day festival, which begins on August 25.

By the end of August, the BMC will also stage a citywide exhibition, displaying the composting machines of 40 to 50 firms before 22,000 bulk generators such as hotels and societies. Such machines can compost wet waste within 24 hours.

The K/East (Andheri) and A ward (Colaba, Marine Drive) have staged such exhibitions before.

The move comes after civic chief Ajoy Mehta asked officials to not pick up unsegregated waste after October 2.

According to BMC rules, housing societies that produce more than 100kg of waste daily or have an area of more than 20,000 square metres, must segregate garbage and install waste processing units in their compounds.

“We have identified bulk generators, such as housing societies, which can benefit from the exhibition,” said Kiran Dighavkar, nodal officer for BMC, Swachch Bharat Abhiyan.

Officials said it is likely to be held at the National Sports Complex of India (NSCI) in Worli.

The move comes after a dumping ground fire and is meant to reduce the amount of waste going to the city’s landfill daily.

According to a recent cleanliness survey, Mumbai ranked 29th. BMC data shows that only 48% of housing societies in the city segregate waste daily. Around 7,993 metric tonnes of waste are dumped at the Mulund, Deonar and Kanjurmarg grounds daily.

Since January, the BMC has sent notices to more than 23,000 housing societies for failing to segregate their waste.