6.11.15

Poonawallas for a Swachh Pune

The Poonawalla group, the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines, will spend Rs.100 crore with the aim of turning Pune into one of the cleanest cities in the country . This is perhaps for the first time in the country that a private company has planned to spend so much on improving the waste management system of a city .
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has lent support to the group's green initiative that aims to cover the city's network of roads spanning 300 km in phases in the next three years with a fleet of specially designed trucks, a host of trash bins and a slew of garbage processing plants.
Adar Poonawalla, executive director and chief executive officer of the Rs.4,000-crore Serum Institute of India Ltd, which is managed by the Poonawalla group, said , “The venture is close to my heart and I have named it Poonawalla Clean City Movement. Under this green initiative, we aim to take up the cleaning of 300 km of roads running across the municipal limits of the city in a phased manner. Our aim is to make Pune one of the cleanest cities in India. Of course, this won't be possible without the support of the state government and the PMC.“
The first phase of the initiative kickstarted this month.“It was a soft launch. We have started a garbage processing plant in partnership with Pune's Noble Exchange Environment Solutions Pvt Ltd, a waste management firm, in Talegaon. The plant, raised at a cost Rs.25 crore, presently processes 300 tonnes of food waste per day, mainly lifted from city eateries,“ Poonawalla said.
The group has purchased five trucks and 300 garbage bins, which have been specially designed. “The trucks have a waste segregation machinery fitted within. The garbage bins can be cemented onto the ground to deter thefts. These bins will have easy-to-pick garbage bags fitted inside,“ Poonawalla said. In the second phase, the group aims to enhance the area it would clean. “The expansion will depend mainly on the success of the first phase.In the third phase, we aim to cover the entire state under our green initiative,“ he said.
The group aims to garner support from city youths by connecting with them on various social media platforms. “I have been working on the idea for the last one year. I felt strongly for it when I realised it is difficult to steer clear of garbage while walking on the city's roads and footpaths,“ Poonawalla said.
When contacted, Pune municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar said, Poonawalla group's commitment will go a long way in helping make Pune clean and the most livable city in the country.“

No comments: