Gated communities in Hyderabad show the way

Hyderabad: A few gated communities in the city are opening their gates to new ideas and in the process, turning out to be helping hands for farmers. Housing societies in these gated communities have installed organic waste converters (OWC) to process wet waste and the end product i.e., manure is being distributed to farmers, besides […]

Hyderabad: A few gated communities in the city are opening their gates to new ideas and in the process, turning out to be helping hands for farmers.

Housing societies in these gated communities have installed organic waste converters (OWC) to process wet waste and the end product i.e., manure is being distributed to farmers, besides using the manure to develop greenery on their community premises. The gated communities following environmental conservation methods, to mention a few, include Aparna Cyberlife, Aparna Cyber Commune, My Home Jewel/, Nagarjuna Residency, NCC Urban Gardenia and Aparna Hillpark Gardenia. To make sure the manure reaches farmers promptly, the residents have also tied up with NGOs who handle the logistics.

“We identify poor farmers in districts with the help of residents, relatives and organisations. We visit their fields and hand over the manure to them. We have also started taking help of NGOs to reach the farmers. The manure is also used in our societies to develop greenery,” said Dr Sai Ravi Shanker, president, Federation of Gated Communities, Cyberabad and Secretary, Aparna Towers.

Speaking about the journey that streamlined the recycling initiative, residents said that a mandate from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) encouraged them to set up the OWCs.

“Since two years, a vendor was available to dispose of the dry waste. But for wet waste, we were unable to find a prompt solution. While we were discussing with residents about the best-wet waste disposal model, we received a mandate from the GHMC pertaining to onsite composting. This motivated us and the much-needed solution was found,” said Samapada Kulkarni, from Aparna Cyberlife.

Besides helping farmers, the onsite composting helped the residents contribute towards a better environment. Since the time this recycling initiative started in the housing societies, the chain process of garbage disposal i.e., Swachh Auto Tippers visiting their place to pick up garbage to transport it to a transfer station before dumping it in the Jawahar Nagar dump yard, has now ended thus reducing a lot of air pollution in the area.

Currently, the Federation of Gated Communities, Cyberabad, comprising of over 80 gated communities is coordinating with housing societies in and around the IT corridor to spread the recycling initiative to more gated communities. Currently, the federation is sharing the best practices that can be followed and incorporated in day to day life for environmental sustainability.

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