The Rajyotsava celebrations in Belagavi shattered all previous records with the highest number of attendees on Wednesday. The event, particularly at Rani Channamma Circle, was a grand affair. However, the sight of garbage strewn across the circle and its surroundings came as a shock to the pourakarmikas of the Belagavi City Corporation on Thursday morning. BCC sources revealed that a staggering 7 tonnes of waste were generated in and around Channamma Circle, including discarded footwear, plastic bottles and bags, clothes, and flower waste.
To the surprise of the corporation, ragpickers from the Ganeshpur area alone collected over 2 tonnes of used plastic bottles from Channamma Circle during the early hours of Thursday. These resourceful individuals sold the waste to local scrap vendors at Rs 10 per kg, earning a remarkable Rs 20,000 in just a few hours.
The City Corporation had recently identified and issued identity cards to 75 ragpickers. In an effort to assist them, 100 kg capacity dustbins were placed in the Rani Channamma Circle area specifically for empty water bottles. The ragpickers would arrive at around 3 a.m. and collect these bottles.
Corporation Commissioner Ashok Dudagunti expressed his satisfaction with the meticulous planning to clean Channamma Circle before 6 am. He commended all those involved for their incredible efforts in ensuring the area was spotless before sunrise.
Additionally, a substantial amount of flower waste was gathered from the area, which would be utilized in the production of agarbattis. Sources also mentioned that more than 5 tonnes of dry waste, including footwear, clothes, and plastic carry bags, were directly transported to the JK Cement factory to be used as alternative fuel.