Port Blair, Sept 30: As part of Swach Bharat Abhiyan initiated by the Prime Minister, the Army Component has taken a major initiative to make Birchgunj Military Station a garbage free zone. In addition, to the regular massive Clean Up drives, a Waste to Wealth project has been initiated with an aim to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. To provide impetus to this initiative a number of workshops were conducted for all soldiers and families residing in the station in conjunction with Defense Wives Welfare Organisation (DWWA) to educate them on various aspects related to waste management including segregation at source. All the bio degradable waste is recycled in Vermi Compost Pits & Dug Up Compost Pits created at number of locations in the station and the manure produced through these compost pits is being utilised in the kitchen gardens and other central institutions for arboriculture. The inert waste material which cannot be recycled within the existing resources is being utilised for land fill & reclaiming of low lying areas & hazardous waste is only being sent to municipal dump.
The measures have ensured that almost 70 % of the waste generated in the station is recycled within the station and only balance 30 % waste material is dumped into the municipal waste dumps. Smt Seema Verma, President Defence Wives Welfare Association (DWWA) oversaw the initiative under taken by the army component and has appreciated the efforts and exhorted all units and establishments in the Andaman & Nicobar Command to undertake similar initiatives to preserve the pristine beauty of the Islands.
