Trivandrum | Water Supply , Sewerage & Irrigation System

[ajithv]

Source: Kaumudi

[ajithv]

Source: Metro Manorama

Chala garbage plant likely by March



The proposed 35-tonne solid waste treatment plant at Chala will produce 3.2 megawatt of power daily, which will be available to the State at Rs.7.90 a unit, perhaps the lowest such price in the country.

This was stated at a press conference here on Wednesday by Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamluzhy Ali. The foundation stone for the Rs.65-crore plant, being constructed by the U.S.-based Loro Group, would be laid by the end of November 2012. The plant is expected to begin operations by March 2013.

No odour, no leachate

The plant would be designed in such a way as to not emit odour. There would be no leachate or other residual waste, save fly ash, after the processing of solid waste. Garbage would be taken to the plant in covered trucks which would then be hosed down before leaving the facility.

“Chala would be our flagship plant, one we will use to prove that such plants can be set up anywhere and that they can be operated efficiently and in an eco-friendly manner,” Mr. Ali said.

In the beginning the plant would process only the solid waste generated in the Chala area.

This plant would be set up in the public-private partnership mode and would be run by the Loro Group for 20 years before being handed over to the government.

The company would be required to make a caution deposit of Rs.50 lakh and to pay an annuity of Rs.7.2 lakh to the government.

Two more such plants would be set up in the city. Between them, the three plants would be eventually process almost all the waste produced in the city.

Collection of garbage from homes may recommence next year once all three plants were up and running, Mr. Ali added.

Modern Waste-to-Energy Plant at Chalai soon



An Integrated Municipal Solid Waste to Energy Plant, which will generate electricity from waste by gasification process, will come up at Chalai by March next year. This will be the first of the three modern waste management plants to come up in the city, said Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali here on Wednesday.

Loro Group has won the bid to construct the waste treatment plant at Chalai. According to the Minister, the Chalai plant will resemble a ‘shopping mall’ in its looks. “There will be no leachate, foul smell, air or water pollution,” the Minister said. Solid waste will be directly fed to the plant. Since the waste is disposed using gasification, sanitary landfilling is not needed, he said.

The Chalai plant will treat 35 tonnes of waste per day and is expected to produce 3.2 mega watts of electricity from it. The Minister said two acres of land had been identified at Chalai for the purpose. Though the Minister said two other plants would come up in Thiruvananthapuram, he did not disclose the locations. Ali said that there had been a 50-per cent reduction in waste generation with the introduction of pipe-compost units and biowaste plants in houses and shops.

Around 42 companies had participated in the tender, of which 12 were shortlisted. Loro Group emerged the successful bidder. The Pollution Control Board has given clearance for setting up the plant, Ali added.

The Minister said unlike the Vilappilsala plant, the modern waste management plant will throw up no pollution issues. An agreement on the garbage baling unit will be finalised in one-and-a-half months, he added.

When asked about the move to dispose of waste in abandoned quarries, the Minister said that the proposal was still under consideration. “But we will consider the concerns of the public,” Ali said.

[ajithv]

Mobile incinerator’s record: 40 tonnes of garbage in 45 hours

In the first 45 hours of its operation, the mobile incinerator now deployed in the capital city could burn 40 tonnes of solid waste, Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali said.

On November 10, when it was shifted to the Fort area (near Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple) the incinerator burnt five tonnes. On November 12, it incinerated four tonnes and on November 13, eight tonnes.

The allegation raised by certain quarters regarding the failure of the incinerator to burn meat waste was baseless. “The incinerator operates at temperature of 1,050 degrees centigrade. At that temperature anything that is put inside it is burnt. Only thing is that if the moisture content is very high, it will take longer to burn,” Mr. Ali said. The machine did not pose any environmental hazard, he said.

The incinerator required 50 to 80 litres of diesel an hour. “A section of the media has reported that the government is planning to buy many more incinerators. No more incinerators are scheduled to be purchased. The incinerator was never planned as a long-term answer to the garbage problem,” he said.

Once the plant at Chala got going the incinerator would be given to some other corporation or municipality. The operating cost of the machine could be determined only after running it for at least a month, he added.

[ajithv]

Source: Kaumudi

[Gopal.K.Kumar]

Originally Posted by ajithv

Source: Kaumudi

Get hold of some old steam loco drivers and firemen. I am sure they will have no reservations in doing this job.

[remobecks]

Corporation plans mini compost units at ward level


As the state government stands divided over the proposal to set up a modern waste treatment plant at Chalai, the city corporation has embarked on a new initiative to process the accumulating waste in the city.

A project to identify vacant lands in various wards where mini compost units can be set up has already been chalked out.

The responsibility of realizing the project has been entrusted with ward-level protection committees under the leadership of respective ward councillors.

Over the last few months the councillors have been touring around their wards garnering the much needed local support for the new initiative.

"Winning the local support was our main priority. Every time an alternative was sought for solving the garbage crisis, local people had busted it. So we have been mustering the local support for this initiative. Now that the locals are also a part of the plan, we can easily proceed with it," said chairperson of health standing committee S Pushpalatha.

As per the project, the capacity of each compost unit will be determined based on the amount of waste generated in a particular ward. The corporation is planning to get the new project go hand in hand with the pipe-compost project.

"We are planning to keep the capacity of each plant to the minimum. It should not be a burden to the residents of a ward. Pipe compost units will continue to play a major role in waste processing in each household. If the compost units also function in a ward effectively,waste generated in each ward can be treated at the source level itself," a corporation official said.

The civic body will rope in experts like RVG Menon and other senior officials to implement the project in various wards.

"We are also planning to send a team to Coimbatore where waste processing has been carried out without any space for complaints. To set up such a system here will not be easy. However, we will see if any minor components can be emulated here," said deputy mayor G Happy Kumar.

The corporation is now collecting proposals regarding the sites from all the wards. Already 15 sites have been identified. The corporation will also seek financial support from the government to realize the project.

[ASGeorge]

Deal inked for Chala plant

The State government on Friday inked a formal agreement with the U.S.-based Loro Group for the construction of a 35-tonne solid waste treatment facility at Chala.
With this, the decks have been formally cleared for the construction of the Rs.65-crore plant which is expected to produce 3.2 mega watts of power daily.
The power will be available to the State at Rs.7.90 per unit, a price which the government claims is among the lowest in the country.
Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhi Ali told The Hindu that the Suchitwa Mission and the Loro Group signed the ‘concession agreement’ on Friday. “Everything is proceeding as per schedule and the foundation stone of the plant will be laid in November as announced earlier,” he said. The plant is expected to begin operations in March 2013.
Officials of the Suchitwa Mission said that the signing of the agreement, though a formality, was significant because it committed both groups to clearly defined deadlines, the violation of which would entail severe penalties.
“The first thing that the government has to do now is to clear the garbage dumped at the site of the proposed plant. This will be done soon. Then Loro Group can begin the construction,” an official said. According to the terms of the agreement, Loro Group will run the plant for 20 years and then hand it over to the government. The land on which the plant is being constructed would, however, remain with the government. The company will have to make a caution deposit of Rs.50 lakh and pay an annuity of Rs.7.2 lakh to the government. Two more such plants are scheduled to come up in the city.
Source : The hindu

[ASGeorge]

[IMG]http://i49.************/2aj6tmv.jpg[/IMG]
Source : Kaumudiflash

[25Dude25]

Source: Mathrubhumi

[ajithv]

Source: Kaumudi

[ajithv]

Tharoor seeks immediate steps to tackle water shortage in city

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the successive failure of monsoon, the city might witness severe drinking water shortage in the days ahead. However, none of the plans previously announced by the state government to address the drinking water shortage during the height of summer has materialized till date.

Demanding immediate action on remedial measures announced earlier to tackle the ensuing water shortage, Union minister of state for human resources development and local MP Shashi Tharoor wrote letters to chief minister Oommen Chandy and water resources minister P J Joseph on Thursday.

"It's now more or less certain that state in general and Thiruvananthapuram city in particular are likely to face a severe shortage of drinking water supply in the ensuing summer of 2013. Certain viable options are available to handle the crisis. These include immediate action for laying a pipeline to carry water from the Neyyar dam to the Aruvikkara reservoir which is only 10 km away," Tharoor said in his letter sent to CM and the minister.

In addition, a necessary long-term measure would be construction of check dams along the approximately 33km connecting channel between the Peppara dam and the Aruvikkara reservoir to save excess water flowing from the former structure, in times when the inflow to that dam is substantial, following good rains, he said.

The state government in 2009 had successfully taken up with the then Union minister of environment and forests Jairam Ramesh the question of granting approval for raising the height of the Peppara dam. The minister had given an in-principle clearance to the idea subject to compensation of forest land elsewhere for the portion of forest that would be submerged thereby. However, the then state government failed to properly act upon that opportunity obtained from the Union government and the matter is still in limbo, the letter said.

[ajithv]

A plant and an incinerator

For the Kerala Government, the proposed pyrolysis-gassification plant at Chala is a make or break situation.

Accordingly, to counter the apprehensions about a Vilappil-like imbroglio at Chala, which triggered local protests against the plant, the government is planning to roll out a publicity blitzkrieg about the plant capabilities, come the new year.

Through a series of seminars, the government will seek to spread the message that the proposed plant at Chala will not pollute the local environment, and that the locality and ultimately the city stand to benefit from the facility. The first of the ‘kick-off seminars’ about the plant is scheduled in the first week of January.

For now, the government is saying that only the waste generated at Chala will be treated at this plant. However, the fact remains that Chala does not and will not in the foreseeable future generate 35 tonnes of garbage, the plant’s capacity.

For now, the government is saying that only the waste generated at Chala will be treated at this plant. However, the fact remains that Chala does not and will not in the foreseeable future generate 35 tonnes of garbage, the plant’s capacity.

Now that two rounds of evaluation by a technical committee have found that the mobile incinerator bought by the government is capable of delivering what it was designed to, the machine may now be taken to other parts of the city in the coming days.

Officials of the Suchitwa Mission said there had been a steady stream of requests from various Corporation councillors for the machine to drop by their ward. “The councillors are only too willing to give their requests in writing. We can then decide where all to take the incinerator. This will be decided in a few days,” a mission official told The Hindu.

All the same, the government is yet to decide who should own the incinerator — the mission, SIDCO, or the proposed government solid waste management company. As things are now, the incinerator may finally end up being owned by the mission itself.

[ajithv]

Many post-mortems, very few solutions

A completely decentralised regime of solid waste management is merely a ‘romantic notion’ and the setting up of a centralised plant is unavoidable, according to educationist R.V.G. Menon. It has been a year since the capital city’s lone solid waste management plant at Vilappilsala was shut. No viable solution is in sight yet. Mr. Menon told The Hindu that a flawed management of the Vilappilsala plant right from the start has led to this dire situation.

Shibu Nair, who is associated with the environmental research group, Thanal, said, “It was always the wrong model, the wrong approach, and the wrong technology. Yet, the plant was set up.” “Solutions such as the mobile incinerator, that are techno-centric, are not viable,” he said. He advocated the ‘Pune model’ which ropes in rag pickers for door-to-door garbage collection.

The expertise of Kudumbasree must be harnessed not just in scavenging waste, but also in managing source-based waste systems.

“Compost systems set up at houses too need maintenance, for which Kudumbasree workers can be used. People should be educated about these systems. Otherwise, they will assume that they are ineffective.” Mr. Nair felt that instead of going for a centralised plant, a sector-wise decentralised approach could be adopted.

Though Mr. Menon is all for a centralised plant, he believes that its functioning must be carefully planned. “We need to involve people at the source as well, as this will reduce the load at the central plant,” said Mr. Menon. He listed two reasons for the demise of the Vilappilsala plant — improper treatment of waste, and lack of leachate treatment.

“Even the Chala plant is based on thermal decomposition of waste, which is not technically advisable. Biodegradable waste needs to be composted carefully. Only the rejects that should be thermally processed,” said Mr. Menon.

In flats

Vinod C.S., president of the Apartment Owners Association, attributed the failure of Vilappilsala to ‘poor operation.’ “Many flats have successfully put in place biogas plants, processing all the waste generated in a building. The system is being managed well,” he said.

The city should be split into four zones, each with its own plant, rather than dumping the entire load on one centralised plant, he said.

Technopark, it seems, is keen on finding its own solution. Just a week ago, GTech, a consortium of Technopark companies, met Minister for Health V.S. Sivakumar regarding a waste management system that could process the waste generated in Phase I, II, and III of the cyber park and the upcoming Technocity. According to Anoop Ambika, who is associated with GTech, it would be a public-private partnership, and a profit-oriented venture.

[psanthosh]

Biogas plant for Palayam mkt soon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Palayam market is likely to become self-reliant in terms of waste management with the commissioning of a high-capacity biogas plant capable of generating electricity in January. The work on the plant, which began in September, is nearing completion.

The rubble pack at the bottom layer has been made at a depth of 30cm. On the top of this layer, plain cement concrete (PCC) and reinforced concrete have been embedded at a depth of 15cm each. "We are now in the process of constructing the sidewall and the giant dome. The shaping of the dome requires some skilled work. We are hopeful that it can be completed soon," said a Kerala state urban development programme (KSUDP) official, who is in charge of the project.

The bio-gas plant, the biggest among the ones being set up in city markets, will measure 9m in diameter and 5m in height. The digester of the plant will have a capacity to process two tonnes of waste per day. The biogas generated from the digester will be passed through a filter into the generator where it will be converted into electricity.

"Once the plant is ready, the electricity requirements of the market can be met with this plant. Also, managing the huge amount of waste will no longer be a problem for the corporation. The plant which will come up at Palayam will be much more advanced than the one currently at Sreekaryam," chairman of welfare standing committee Palayam Rajan said.

The biogas plant at Palayam will be set up at a cost of Rs 26 lakh. The plant works on bio-methanization process where the organic waste is converted into methane, which in turn is converted into electricity.

The corporation is keen on getting the plant functional in the beginning of the New Year. The civic body has also initiated steps to set up similar decentralized waste treatment plants at Peroorkada, Kazhakootam and Manacaud markets. "The plant at Palayam will be the biggest since the amount of waste generated there is much higher than that produced in other markets," Rajan said.

Corporation employees have been burying the waste generated from the market in pits so far. "We can't go on like this forever. That is why we decided to speed up the work on the biogas plant at Palayam," said a corporation official. The project is undertaken by a private NGO and is being supervised by KSUDP and the corporation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/17721459.cms

[Ajaypp]

Originally Posted by ajithv

...... a waste management system that could process the waste generated in Phase I, II, and III of the cyber park and the upcoming Technocity.

[ajithv]

Source: Mathrubhumi



Source: Metro Manorama

[ajithv]

A ‘hot brick’ for Corporation

The much-hyped mobile incinerator that vroomed all the way from Gujarat to the city promising a solution to its garbage woes has now turned a huge headache to the authorities.

The latest about the machine is the City Corporation shrugging off the responsibility of operating the machine. The Corporation Council on Monday passed an adjournment motion moved by BJP leader in the Council P Ashok Kumar in this regard.

“The Corporation can provide the waste materials required to be processed in the machine. We cannot take up the responsibility of operating it. Let it be done by those who have been doing it so far,” Mayor K Chandrika told City Express.

When contacted, the Suchitwa Mission officials said that the machine would necessitate the assistance of the civic body to continue the operations. “Now the Corporation is providing labourers and water for the machine to operate. The civic body’s help would be required to carry out the operations and maintenance in future too,” said an official associated with the Suchitwa Mission.

Ashok Kumar said that the machine guzzling 100 litres of diesel to process one tonne of waste would cause trouble to the Corporation if it takes up the responsibility of the machine. “The incinerator has not been able to solve the garbage issues faced by the city. It is learned that the machine has turned dysfunctional many times and has been repaired every time,” he alleged. He also sought a vigilance inquiry regarding the purchase of the machine.

So far, nothing has been planned regarding the future operations of the machine and the Suchitwa Mission says that it can take any decision on it only after getting the certificate of the fuel consumption test done on the machine on January 2, to be provided by the PWD Mechanical Engineering wing.

The ownership of the machine is also not transferred to the Suchitwa Mission, which says this has to be done by the Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO). “So far, we have borne the responsibility of arranging fuel for the machine during its trial run. If we have to take up the ownership of the machine, it would be done only with insurance coverage,” said the Suchitwa Mission official.

[ajithv]

Originally Posted by psanthosh

Temple society in Thiruvananthapuram sets up incinerator



At a function held at the temple hall in Puthen Street on Sunday, Mayor K. Chandrika inaugurated the installation of the decentralised solution to waste management

The Ramavarmapuram Grama Samudayam (RGS) has achieved the distinction of being the first among religious societies or cultural and residents’ associations in the city to set up its own incinerator.

At a function held at the temple hall in Puthen Street on Sunday, Mayor K. Chandrika inaugurated the installation of the decentralised solution to waste management, intended to process the waste generated at the temple and its adjacent hall.

The areas in the city considered to be the worst affected by the closure of the Vilappilsala solid waste management factory are the wards surrounding Padmanabhaswamy Temple, such as Fort, Manacaud and Sreekanteshwaram. Families live in ‘agraharams’, densely populated regions with virtually no compound and hence have no choice but to dump garbage on public waysides.

“Even the Padmanabhaswamy Temple is yet to set up a system. The move by RGS would prompt others to come up with solutions on their own,” said Ms. Chandrika. She noted that Shanthi Kavadam functioned using the same technology of electrical incineration and no complaints had been raised regarding air pollution.

She dismissed claims that the civic body would take over the management of the mobile incinerator acquired by the State government as a temporary measure. “Why would we assume responsibility for something that was found faulty right at the testing stage,” said the Mayor.

She also urged those present to abandon the use of plastic carry bags. She hoped that in six months the city would have markedly reduced use of plastic bags.

R. Suresh, president of RGS, said the association used to incur massive expenditure by employing an agency to collect the waste and dispose of it elsewhere. He admitted that there would be teething problems, but it is a step forward. The cost of purchase and installation of this system was Rs.3 lakh, he said. He said the waste would be segregated into paper and organic waste and no plastics would be fed into the system, thereby eliminating any possibility of pollution.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle4282559.ece

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[ajithv]

Mobile incinerator: the churning sees no end

The City Corporation, on Monday, adopted a resolution against accepting the ownership of the mobile incinerator from the State government. The machine, worth Rs.2.5 crore, was brought to the city in November. P. Ashok Kumar of the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP), who moved an adjournment motion, said the machine was largely ineffectual and incurred massive costs.

The resolution stated that by handing over the machine to the Corporation, the government was attempting to absolve itself of the responsibility of handling a mechanism that used too much fuel for the little quantity waste it processed.

The resolution was adopted towards the end of the Council meeting as much of the discussion revolved around the People’s Plan and the guidelines regarding the choosing of beneficiaries for each scheme.

Councillors should convene ward committee meetings to draw up the list of beneficiaries by January 21, Mayor K. Chandrika said.

The councillors of the United Democratic Front (UDF) said the civic body had failed to carry out development works promised on various occasions.

The Mayor said 619 engineering projects were on the anvil and some had reached the tendering stage. Over 550 spill-over plans would be taken up soon, she added. Maheshwaran Nair (UDF) said more discussions were necessary as most councillors were unaware of many programmes.

The Corporation should be more realistic in making promises as the civic body had failed to implement many schemes for want of resources, he said. Some councillors cited the EMS Housing Scheme as a case in point. Vizhinjam councillor Gladys Alex said certain wards, such as hers, had received no benefits.

In response, works standing committee chairperson V.S. Padmakumar said the Corporation had carried out all that was required of it in time, from the development seminar to meetings of the 18 working groups. An additional list would be prepared regarding the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme focussing on the coastal areas, he added.

Deputy Mayor G. Happykumar said the Corporation was constrained by the subsidy norms of the State government.

[remobecks]

Kerala Water Authority to replace old pipes in Thiruvananthapuram

With cases of pipe burst being reported frequently in the city, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has decided to replace the old cement pipes between Aruvikkara and Peroorkada. The Rs 38-crore work, which involves replacement of pre-stressed concrete pipes with mild steel ones, will cover around 9km from the KWA pumping stations at Aruvikkara to the city.

"We have started bringing MS (mild steel) pipes for the project. The work will begin on Monday," said Suresh Chandran, the assistant executive engineer in charge of the work. "We are replacing the existing PSC (prestressed concrete) transmission main lines, commissioned in 1999, with new MS pipes. This will bring an end to the issue of pipe bursts," he said. The new pipes are of 1,219mm diameter. KWA officials say MS pipe has a life of 80 years.

"We will complete the work within a year," said Suresh. KWA has got sanction for the project in August 2012 and official inauguration was held in September.

The new pipes will be laid parallel to the existing ones. However, the 13-year-old cement pipes will be retained in the stretch in order to serve for emergency purposes, said KWA officials.

KWA is facing major loss due to recurrent pipe bursts. Transmission loss due to leakage in pipe is another cause of worry. Latest of this incident happened in Nedumangadu, where a three-storeyed house was partially damaged following a pipe burst.