12/1/2014

StudentstomapChennaisscrapdealersTheHindu

CitiesChennai
StudentstomapChennaisscrapdealers
StaffReporter

Asurveytomapkabadiwallas(scrapdealers)acrossthecitywillsoonimprovethecoordinationbetweensuchdealers
andresidents,andeventuallyreducewastegoingtolandfill.
AspartofthisjointprojectorganisedbyGlobalShaper,ayouthwingoftheWorldEconomicForum,andCare,aneco
clubrunbystudentsofSriVenkateswaraEngineeringCollege,anorientationprogrammeaboutthesurvey,whichwill
beundertakeninabouttwoweeksfromnow,wasconductedforabout50studentsonSunday.
SiddharthHandeofGlobalShapersaidthenetworkofkabadiwallasinthecitywasalmostinvisibleandoneofthe
primaryreasonswhyalotofwasteendedupinlandfills.
Atfirst,wewillconductasurveyonkabadiwallas,with400students,andthen,atalaterpointintime,wewillconnect
withresidentialassociationsinthecity.Theobjectiveistoraiseawarenessaboutkabadiwallaservice,createaplatform
tolocatetheirpresenceforresidentsandensurelesswastegoesintolandfills,hesaid.
Asmartphoneapplicationhadbeendeveloped,andeachstudentwouldbegivenadeviceusingwhichtheywould
conductthesurvey,Mr.Handesaid.
Accordingtoofficialdata,4,500metrictonnesofsolidwastewasbeinggeneratedinthecity,andabout68percentwas
fromresidentialareas.Thoughwastecanberecycledorupcycled,alargeportiongoesintolandfillsoropendumping
yards,hesaid.
KotaAshwinKumar,afinalyearstudentofthecollege,said,Thisproject,inaway,providesanopportunityfor
studentstocontributetotheenvironment.Afterwecollectthedata,wewilldiscussitwithenvironmentalactivistsand
presentapapertopolicymakers.
Keywords:Chennaikabadiwallas,Chennaiscrapdealers,GlobalShaper

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/studentstomapchennaisscrapdealers/article5671015.ece

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