The Hindu Business Line : Kudumbasree units of Kochi to widen operations

THE Kudumbasree units of Kochi have decided to widen their activities here to cover the collection and processing of household refuse and marketing of consumer products.

As many as seven units of Kudumbasree will launch its activities here before April 15. This follows the directive of the Ombudsman for Local Bodies, Mr Justice K.P. Radhakrishna Menon, to the Kochi Corporation to opt the units in the collection and processing of garbage from households. At present, five such units are functioning in the city.

The Kudumbasree units need the support of the corporation for identifying land for setting up garbage processing units. Each unit would require at least 20 sq ft to 50 sq ft. Kudumbasree is also seeking the co-operation of resident associations in extending its operations to new areas as they will have to ensure the payment of user's fee to the garbage collecting units, senior officials of the Kudumbasree Mission said. The refuse collected from households will be sold to the scrap dealers in the city.

The authorities are also planning to convene a meeting of the resident's association in the city to find out which all associations are willing to engage the Kudumbasree units for the collection of garbage.

Kudumbasree has also plans to market its produce through the network it is gradually building up in the city. The district authorities are also imparting behavioural training and personality development programmes to the members of the units for equipping them to take up the challenge professionally. They will also be issued ID cards and these steps would increase the acceptability of the team members among the general public, the officials said.

The team members, working on shifts, will also be deployed for collecting and remitting the various service bills of the city dwellers. Once the programme goes full throttle, it will reduce the workload of the cleaning staff engaged by the Corporation, as the units will take care of the waste generated by the households.

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