Prutha Goa

Goa has received much well deserved criticism on account of the abounding garbage that spills over from every neighbourhood. There are remedies and schemes that have been thought out for the appropriate disposal of rubbish that comes under wet waste, that is biodegradable matter, and most dry waste that can be recycled or upcycled. There remains, however, the problem of waste that is delineated as toxic and detrimental to the environment. This includes biomedical waste and e-waste (electrical and electronic waste). In the case of e-waste, the Government of India has issued, through the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Government of India, the E-waste Management Rules, 2016, which became effective from the 1 st of October 2016. To understand the magnitude of the e-waste problem, we refer to the ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India)-Frost and Sullivan study (2016) that estimates that India’s e-waste production will be 30 lakh metric tonnes

An awareness programme (part of a series of programmes) on the hazards of electronic waste was held at EDC House, Panjim, by the NGO Communicare Trust in collaboration with NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) Foundation, CEAMA (Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association) and MAIT (Manufactures Association of Information Technology). This was part of the Digital India Initiative that has begun pilot projects in Bhubaneshwar, Puducherry, Guwahati, Imphal, Indore, Kolkata, Moradabad, Ranchi, Patna and Panjim, to combat the issue of growing electronic waste in India. The e-waste project will be gradually extended to other parts of India to cover all major areas. The objective is to reach out to schools, colleges, producers, consumers, bulk consumers, scrap dealers (kabadiwalas), dealers, etc, using the cooperation of local NGOs to educate them about the rules with regard to e-waste (2016), the problems related to it, and the proper manner of

It requires some amount of courage, determination and a touch of madness to throw away what most would consider a normal life. Merwyn Coutinho felt there was certainly more to living in this world than the humdrum routine of existence with a corporate job, house, car and other requirements that determine the good life. He gave up the reality of the dream that most Indians chase after to bring light to the remotest corners of India, becoming what he calls a ‘dedicated traveller’. It began with vacations that increased in length as time went on. ‘Every time I stepped out, I wanted to stay there. I did not want to come back. So I went back to work and I said let me save some more money so next time I can take a longer vacation,’ says Merwyn. He consolidated his days of leave to be able to be away for longer periods of time. It was on one of these trips that Merwyn set off travelling to the north east region of India. The spark for the Batti Project was not lit until Merwyn came to a place