In a major revamp, dumping sites in Lucknow to be transformed into selfie points

An aesthetically pleasing garbage dump, said no one ever! If we mention something as oxymoronic as a "beautiful garbage dumping site", you'd probably be weirded out, right? Well, perhaps something as revolutionary as a beautiful garbage dumping ground can help turn Lucknow into one of the cleanest cities of India.

The state authorities have announced the beautification of garbage dumps that have mushroomed throughout the city, turning them into selfie points! The end goal is to turn unclean and unhygienic areas into clean sites.

A state government initiative, a cleanliness drive will be carried out across Uttar Pradesh. Starting from December 1, the drive is said to cover 750 civic bodies in 75 districts for 75 hours.

The waste from these garbage vulnerable points (GVP) will be segregated as wet and dry waste, and then disposed off and treated. "After the campaign, high-quality and geo-tagged photos of garbage vulnerable points (before and after elimination) will be made available by the civic bodies on the email of State Mission Directorate, Swachh Bharat Mission (urban). The government has also directed officials to ensure videography of the activities undertaken under the campaign," government spokesman said.

Lucknow produces about 2,000 metric tonnes of solid waste on a daily basis. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, sensitive places (GVP) for garbage collection are expected to be completely eliminated and converted into clean places.

"All the GVPs will be beautified and turned into either selfie points with space for senior citizens or will be allotted to street vendors," the spokesman added.

Besides the latest change, the following changes have already been in the pipeline for effective waste disposal in the city. These were influenced by Indore's waste management mechanism.

From instructing bulk garbage producers and guiding them around creating composters to building a bio-CNG plant in the city, the developments are underway. Along with this, some 100 material recovery facilities (MRFs) are slated to be established, with 10 of them in the first phase being built in the areas of Old Fort Sadar, Bulaki Adda, Gomti Nagar Extension, Gwari Chauraha Gomti Nagar, Awadh Chauraha Alambagh, Munshi Pulia, Rajajipuram, Shankarpuri, Kamta South City, and Madari Kheda.

Additionally, various awareness campaigns will be organised in order to acquaint the localities about the advantages of segregating waste at the source. They will be encouraged to do the same, besides the door-to-door waste collection campaign continuing as usual.

All of the efforts are being put in in a bid to solidify and facilitate better SWM in Lucknow.