Coimbatore residents happy with waste management, water availability: survey

The Hindu , Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Correspondent : M. Soundariya Preetha

Over 70 per cent expressed willingness to segregate waste before disposal

Environmental indicators such as waste management and quality and availability of surface water have improved in the city during the last five years, according to respondents who participated in a study conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

TERI’s ‘2014 Environmental Survey’ was conducted in eight cities in the country, including Coimbatore. As many as 1,200 respondents from various age groups, neighbourhoods and occupation participated in the study here.

They were asked to rate specific environmental indicators in their surrounding areas. The list included waste management, bird species, tree cover, ground water, surface water, drinking water availability, drinking water quality and air quality.

About 70 per cent of the respondents felt that quality and availability of surface water has improved and over 60 per cent said waste management has improved. However, 41 per cent felt that air quality has worsened.

In the case of drinking water availability and quality equal proportion of respondents felt it has improved and worsened.

The responses varied sharply across localities for some indicators. However, over 98 per cent of those who participated in the study felt that the city was experiencing climate change. Almost three-fourth of the participants said rainfall has decreased and temperature has increased.

The report has details of responses for water and waste management. Only 10 per cent of those who participated in the survey knew that drinking water supply was subsidised by the Government and even among those who knew, majority were not in favour of charging the actual cost for water supply.

Almost 60 per cent preferred fixed charges as against billing for metered consumption. Supply by the local body was the major source of drinking water in the city. In the case of waste management, the response on waste collection varied based on the educational qualification and occupation of the respondent.

While some said garbage was not collected from their house another group said it was collected. However, majority (80 per cent) said that the best strategy to manage waste was to reduce waste generation at household level. And, over 70 per cent expressed their willingness to segregate waste before disposal.

When asked to identify the stakeholder group with higher responsibility for disposing of the city’s solid waste and garbage, almost 70 per cent felt that it was the local body or other government agencies. Only 25 per cent said it should involve all stakeholders, including private companies.

On the charges for waste management, 62 per cent felt that all households should have a uniform fee, irrespective of the amount of waste generated.

 
SOURCE : http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/coimbatore-residents-happy-with-waste-management-water-availability-survey/article6103599.ece
 


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