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Thakurgaon set to turn into a cleaner town

Biogas and compost produced from household waste

Quamrul Islam Rubaiyat, Thakurgaon
Sustainable solid waste management project with the slogan 'Green Thakurgaon, Clean Thakurgaon' was inaugurated at Thakurgaon BD Hall premises in the town in May 2014. The guests, including Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Chandra Biswas and Superintendent of Police Foisal Mahamud inaugurated the programme by sweeping up a portion of the street at Thakurgaon Intersection. Biswas attended the programme as Chief Guest while Mahmud attended as Guest of Honour.
Later on, a colorful procession was brought out in town which ended at Thakurgaon BD Hall auditorium. The procession was also accompanied by a group of singers who sang about cleanliness with an aim to develop awareness among the townsfolk. The programme followed a discussion where former Lawmaker Fazlul Karim made the declaration of inauguration of the programme formally while Executive Director of Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO) Dr. Muhammad Shahid Hz Zaman chaired the session. The Headmaster of Thakurgaon Government Boys' High School Akhteruzzaman, and the Headmaster of Thakurgaon Government Girls' High School delivered speeches as special guests. The Thakurgaon municipality implemented the project with the assistance of Bangladesh Climate Change Trust in partnership with Eco-Social Development Organisation. The goal of the programme is 'Enhancement of environment through the improvement of drainage system and sustainable waste management'.
In the welcome speech Mayor SMA Moin welcomed the cooperation of all stakeholders and the community to sustain the programme for the sake of keeping the city clean. If the project is sustained, in one hand the environment will improve, while the compost will be used on agricultural lands -contributing to the nation's agricultural output. He also said that the citizens of the municipality have a duty to keep household wastes in two baskets, which have been provided by the project, dividing rotting and non-rotting waste separate and keep it in front of their houses while the garbage
collection workers whistle each morning.
About 120,000 people live in the 30 square kilo-metre area of the Thakurgaon Municipality. It has been established in 1958 and upgraded as 'First Glass Municipality' in 1997. To make the town clean and green, under the project, a total of 64 workers are engaged in collecting waste from 7,000 households in 12 wards of Thakurgaon municipality every day. After collecting the waste, it is carried to 'Waste Treatment Plant' which has been set up behind Thakurgaon Sadar Hpazila Parishad. Two trucks and 36 rickshaw-vans has been made available for transporting the waste. Since the inauguration of the programme, the waste is being brought to 'Waste Treatment Plant' regularly, making the streets and
public places of the town cleaner.
After dumping, the waste is sorted into two groups, rotting and non-rotting, this is why households have been provided with two bins to categorize their waste accordingly. The rotting or decomposable wastes are being dumped in a processed chamber for preparing bio-gas. The bi-product of bio-gas is slurry (compost), which is a good organic fertiliser, and can be used to maintain soil fertility and increase crop production. It can also be used as fish feed. Project officials have said that the bio-gas will be used as cooking fuel as source of energy for lighting houses in a limited scale. The townspeople are optimistic about the project activities at this initial stage and are hopeful about its success in the long run.