CHAPPU CHAVARU KUPPA- WASTE
Dear friends, Today’s one of the criticalproblem is disposing waste. Comparing to earlier years, waste is increasingevery year. When vast open areas werethere with each house at one time, disposing waste was not a problem at all.Now with flat culture or an independent house in 3 cents of land, disposal ofwaste is a real problem. Practically lesser good solutions. Day by day waste is going on increasing. Update- One of the present accumulating waste is use and throw mask nowdue to covid 19. In our area in Chennai there is akitchen and petty home waste disposal system. Perishable and non-perishableitems are to keep in two SMALL baskets/ bags. It would be collected in the handcart between 8-10 AM by municipality arranged private system on a monthlycharging basis. The waste is converted to pellet type manure in a plant about 15KMs away. There is an upperlimit to the waste one can keep each day. They have to collect waste from all houses. Vegetation cutting if any wouldbe collected once a week in lorry. We have to keep conveniently in road sidebefore our house/flat. . Marriage hallspay a good amount to municipality for each function and after that the waste iscollected in the lorry. The amount is large. Today my posting is about waste. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 9-5- 2013. Reposted on 10-2-2021 after editing and updating. Gopala Krishnan 1. Thekku patijnare moola chappinu Either south west or North Westcorner of the compound was kept reserved for waste items on those days, sometimesmaking it a small square pit of about one feet depth. Once a while it was disposedmostly by burning. Driedleaves, waste paper, torn out cloth, ash from kitchen etc. would be in it. Thewaste water from kitchen used to flow through a trench to some pit where it wouldget dried up and later dried up food items if any, put in the trench. Most ofthe wastes were given to animals. Since snakes etc. could be therewith all care sometimes in the pit, children were asked to keep away from there. Elders too never went near it in nights. I recollect such an area in southwest corner in my home in native. Once a while workmen/ my father used to poura little kerosene applied cloth and burn them. Daily sweeping was done insiderooms. Cleaning floor with wet cloth was not a daily routine and it was neverfelt necessary. Beforethe day of srardham it was compulsory to wash and drain out water with cloth. Update- Probably daily swiping has come after revolution in flooring withtiles, granite, mosaic, marble etc. Once a month or so compoundcleaning was done other than muttam (area surrounding the home). The muttamcleaning was called adichhu vaaral. Once a day in the morning it was done. Update- Evening cleaning the front of home also came at a later period. On those days lady servants wereavailable for adichhuvaral and vessel cleaning without talking rules andregulations as today. Now they require yearly increment as they ask, bonusduring deepavali and pongal equal to or more than one month salary, dressingonce a year, weekly holiday in addition to sudden leave. 2. Onam and cleaning. Before onam it was/is a practicethe streets are all cleaned and the unwanted weeds growth etc. are removed. Pullu chethukkal (Grass cutting)is the name for it. During the time if the compound is to be cleaned that too wouldbe carried out in a very neat manner. All waste would be burnt and everywhereit will be tidy welcomingOnathappan. Further all children and grandchildren would be coming.For grand children’s play special care was taken. Labour was not such a toughproblem on those days in Kerala. Even in my child hood days dailylabour was a problem. 3. Village and town homes. Village homes now too have goodspace as compound and town houses have very small area surrounding. Neatness iskept and some demarcated area is kept for waste. Some homes in towns have chokepit, a temporary measure of keeping the vessel cleaning water and waste in achocking pit. But periodically the chocking bricks have to be replaced and theold one disposed. Replacing only require money to purchase new ones. But disposing old bricks with foulsmell is a problem. In my observation the chockingpit from kitchen because we use cleaning materials they adhere to bricks andcreate the problem. Choking pit from bath room only contain water with skindust or due to washing. Somehow they do not over flow frequently and createsmell as like kitchen choke pit. Deadskin has foul smell. Soap water coming from washing machine also has smell withdirt Plantains near if any wouldabsorb water. Coconut trees also. But coconut tree in a small compound is another problem. 4. Choke pit problem in training centre. While I was working in trainingcentre, there was a chock pit leaking of bathroom water. Nasty smell. He brought necessary materials. At that timeonly I knew of special chocking bricks. He made a pit and pathway. But removingand connecting to new pit and disposing the nasty water were biggest headachewith no labour for that. Some how he got some from villages and one day nightset right. In Kerala at present everywherein city and big towns waste has to be maximum disposed by the owners as Iunderstand. 4. Compost valam (Compost manure) I recollect during my school daysthere was one week with no classes and only physical labour of digging cleaning, cutting etc.We had to take pickaxe, powrah, koonthali to school. Girl students have to clean weeds and sweep with broom.Entire school after labour week, the school used to get a face shift. Probably because of thatexperience now too small digging, planting, removing weeds, unwanted grass,sweeping inside the compound and outside in front of the house etc., I am ableto do even in this age. But I am very proud, seeing my cleaning in front of thehouse; many others started to perform cleaning the front of their house. Update- With advanced age now, I employ some labourfortnightly paying through the nose. Somehow they are available to me on their convenient days 5. Sashta preethi On those days the entire premisesof the bhajanamatam/ samooham matam would be cleaned before sastha preethi.Other than very hard works we ourselves used to accomplish the job. Every day the front and sideswere cleaned to the extent possible and lamp was lighted. In my native during theTiruvabharanam day, the entire streets are cleaned, every house lighted lamp inthe street keeping offering while it is coming. There used to be crowd alongthe streets and roads to see the Tiruvabharana Ghoshayathra. 6. Paper, Paper… Today evening during power cut,three akry merchants were discussing and going through streets. I used tothink, unless these people collect, what would have been the condition of thenon-perishable items. They pay very less as price. But they give more prices by collecting them. Update- An untiring example of hard work of Akri people. One day I was just waiting forthe watch repairer oppositeto my regular Akriman shop. He came to me and asked if waiting for auto,he would drop me. He was with a van. I said I am waiting for watch repairer. Next time when he came I asked- Did you ownthat van? He humbly said, yessir, on loan I got it, I drop water cane also. It was about six months back hecame with an invitation- He has purchased the area of his shop, on the 2ndfloor his new small home and house warming. Still he comes to my home and collect Akri items in histricycle. . 7. The railway station cleaning There are a large number ofpeople deployed as staff. So the premises are clean. My point is they have somelocation to dump waste and dispose in some manner. But the transport bus standspose the problem. 8. The AC Buses in Chennai. I have seen the AC buses veryclean in Chennai and Bangalore. Other buses are not that much clean 9. The waste box The waste box provision inrailway stations help to maintain cleanliness much. But along the road- Thetender coconut people and watermelon people etc. create more waste. Some takesthe waste in their cart and through in some open areas. Not all. 10 Trains cleaning What a new appearance for coaches. Before the train is taken, they arewell cleaned. Every three hours or so the trains are cleaned while in motion,waste from passengers are collected by specially employed men with dress withmessage- NO TIPS PLEASE -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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