Jamshedpur to soon become India's first cow dung-free city
What's the story
The Jharkhand government has initiated efforts to make Jamshedpur the "country's first" cow dung-free city, an official said. The Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee recently floated an open tender for the project and two city-based firms have bagged the contract following a bidding held on Friday, said JNAC Special Officer Sanjay Kumar Pandey. Pandey claimed the project was a first of its kind in India.
Details
Received complaints from residents against cow-shed, cattle owners: Pandey
"We have been receiving constant complaints from residents against cow-shed and cattle owners about health hazards created by cow dung lying here and there across the city," Pandey said. Jamshedpur has over 350 cow-sheds and "all of them are illegal without any facility for disposal of cattle waste", which have been posing a serious health risk for the people, the JNAC official said.
Contract
Firms engaged to collect cow dung and dispose it properly
Pandey said the two firms engaged for the project will work on collecting cow dung from the city and its proper disposal on a daily basis. The companies have been asked to conduct a survey to identify the total number of cow-sheds operating in the city, the number of cattle, and the estimated volume of cow dung needed to be collected per day.
Project
Cow-shed, cattle owners to pay monthly fee to engaged firms
Work on the project will begin from September 15 following the completion of a fortnight-long survey. Cow-shed and cattle owners will have to pay a monthly fee to the firms as fixed by JNAC for collecting the cow dung. The companies will also have the right to sell the cow dung, make compost, etc. and JNAC will collect a nominal fee from them annually.