Segregate waste and get a chance to win gold and silver coins. This is the latest initiative taken by the Vellore City Municipal Corporation, along with a social activist, to promote source segregation.
On Saturday, four residents who consistently segregated waste as biodegradable and non-biodegradable were awarded gold and silver coins respectively.
There are four zones in Vellore City Municipal Corporation and a total of 168 metric tonne of waste is generated daily. Though most of the residents segregate the waste and dispose of it, they do not do it consistently.
“Around 45 days ago, we, along with social activist Dinesh Saravanan, created awareness about segregating waste in ward 24 in Zone 2. We announced that those who do it consistently will get gold and silver coins,” said N. Sankaran, Commissioner, Vellore Corporation. Officials said Mr. Dinesh Saravanan also handed over green and blue dust bins to the residents.
“There are 2,200 residents in the ward. Most of the residents did it well. So we had to select them by drawing lots. Two of them were provided a half-gram gold coin each and two others a five-gram silver coin each,” said K. Siva Kumar, Sanitary Officer, Zone 2, Vellore Corporation.
S. Chitrasena, City Health Officer, said a similar initiative was being planned in other wards too. “We have been creating awareness regularly. It is the job of the residents to segregate the waste they generate. Though people do it sometimes, we are trying to make them consistent,” she said.
Mr. Dinesh Saravanan said he sponsored the gold and silver coins. “In the last 45 days, we could see a great difference in the ward,” he said.
