Used sanitary napkins, condoms choking city

Drainage and solid waste disposal are major challenges forany city However the Pune Municipal Corporation PMC is facing a unique problem According to a recent survey a staggering 25 lakh used sanitary napkins are being flushed down toilets or end up littering pavements everyday says a recent survey The extensive survey conducted by the civic body along with Bharatiya Shree Shikshan Jagran BSSJ a nongovernmental organisation found that this biological waste is choking drains and is a direct threat to public health Clean and clear The sanitary napkins are collected in pink bags by Swach workers Having realised the gravity of the problem the civic body has decided to install incinerators at various places across the city to ensure scientific disposal of solid waste Suresh Jagtap assistant commissioner PMC Solid Waste Management said ldquoUsed sanitary napkins and condoms are a concern for the city and the environment Considering the damage used pads cause we are suggesting installation of incinerators at all 15 wards within the PMC limitsrdquo Donrsquot litter Mukta Tilak BJP corporator said ldquoThe survey indicates that PMC collects 250000 used napkins every day and the study on disposal of sanitary napkins was muchawaited Besides it also indicates that there is no provision for disposing sanitary napkins for 63 per cent women at their respective work placesrdquo Mayor Vaishali Bankar who has taken a keen interest in creating an awareness of disposing sanitary napkins said ldquoWe want to create awareness about using sanitary napkins instead of the use of cloths for maintaining menstrual hygiene in females from the age group between 14 to 48 yearrdquo The civic body is now also contemplating conducting another survey on disposal of used condoms which are equally hazardous ldquoWe are conducting a special survey on the issue of collecting used condoms Simultaneously an awareness drive would be undertaken to show how a used condom should be wrapped and disposed off safely As per the current estimates there may be about half to one tonne of used condoms collected from all over the cityrsquos waste bins including all the 10 Sewerage Treatment Plants STPrdquo said Jagtap Dr Dinesh Bende PMC health officer said ldquoDisposal of used condoms is a big issue as we find them in big numbers across STP plants everyday The condom user should ecologically dispose a used condom so that rag pickers donrsquot come in contact with it while picking it from garbage binsrdquo Swach an NGO is taking action ldquoWe have given special bags masks and gloves to rag pickers to pick up the sanitary napkins We are asking for additional equipments for the PMC rag pickersrdquo said Laxmi Narayan from Swach First incinerator in Koregaon Park Vanita Vagaskar corporator Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS said ldquoWe are taking a initiative and spending Rs 2 lakh to install a incinerator at Burning Hut a public garden in Koregaon Park It is easier to install the incinerator as we have already been designated as a lsquozero garbagersquo ward As garbage is collected by the civic body from every house the sanitary napkins and diapers would be collected in a similar mannerrdquo