Starting the first week of February, the Amba Maheswari Trust will begin collecting domestic waste from 1,000 houses in the Mulihitlu area. This initiative marks an extension of the Trust's work in creating awareness on proper waste collection and segregation and collaborating with the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) and Traffic Police to address civic issues in three city wards.
Speaking to reporters in Mangaluru on Tuesday, December 30, the Trust's General Secretary Umanath Kotekar stated that the Trust launched the "Awake Kudla" initiative three years ago, under which, in association with the MCC, it undertook the task of addressing issues related to waste collection in the Bolar, Hoige Bazar, and Mangaladevi wards. They also conducted campaigns in the area to ensure households segregated waste before handing it over to collectors and worked with the Traffic Police to resolve local traffic issues.
As part of this expansion, the Trust requested land from the MCC to segregate household waste, ensuring that only wet and inert waste is sent to the Pachchanady processing facility. The MCC has since provided space at the Wet-well premises in Mulihitlu.
"By the first week of January, the space will be ready. We have sought electric vehicles from the MCC and plan to start collecting waste from 1,000 houses by the first week of February," Mr. Kotekar said.
G. Manjula, a member of the Trust, explained that they have already mapped the 1,000 households. Wet and dry waste will be collected daily, while coconut leaves, green waste, and e-waste will be collected once a week. The Trust also plans to collect legacy waste. All waste will be segregated and processed, with the revenue earned remitted to the MCC, she said.
Mr. Kotekar added that from January 1, under 'Awake Kudla-2', the Trust will extend its operations to the Pandeshwar, Cantonment, Port, and Attavar wards. Trust President A. Seetharama was also present and spoke at the event.