The Kolam Effect – A case study on Garbage Vulnerable Points in Karaikal

The Kolam Effect at the Karaikal Project is on the spotlight for the current month. Karaikal MSWM team is setting new trends in testing innovative concepts in handling the Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVP) of Karaikal Municipality. Though the team has been working tirelessly towards the upkeep of clean Karaikal wards and streets, handling of garbage vulnerable points has been a tedious task right from the very start of the project. Garbage vulnerable points (GVP) are those areas where the garbage gets piled up because of the constant dropping of garbage by the local residents, travellers, or passerby,or these spots must have had dustbins earlier.

During the first week of February 2018, Dinamani Daily carried an article on the success of ‘Kolam effect’ in Thiruvarur– a concept whereinGVPs are cleared of garbage and decorated with colorful Kolams, that has led to diminishing amounts of waste littered atthese points,and a reduction in the number of GVPs.  This particular news was shared by the Karaikal Municipal Commissioner, Mr.T.Sudhakar on the dedicated Grievance Redressal Whatsapp Group for the municipality, with a message whether the activity can be emulated by the HHIDS team in Karaikal Municipality. Our MSWM team took this as a challenge and started replicating the concept since 7^thFebruary 2018.

The Kolam activity at the GVPs is now part of the regular IEC activities of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Karaikal. Specially designed stencils with imprinted designs for making Kolams are provided for each collection vehicle to better manage the time of our Motivators and Green Friends. It has been observed that our MSWM team has brought down the GVP numbers from 30 to 19, a 36 % reduction spread across 18 wards of Karaikal Municipality in a span of just two months.  Kudos to our MSWM team, for the initiative has instilled a social change among the people of Karaikal. Our tradition and the respect towards Kolams, and the sentiments attached to it seemed to have worked well with the social message “Not to litter here”.