One Albert Einstein said – “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Hence, in life it is essential to keep moving and enjoy the party of life.
The wetlands save the government crores of rupees as more than half of Calcutta’s effluent is drained into them and is naturally recycled by them. Around 250 metric tonnes of solid waste is dumped every day at the site. The trash is on the verge of spilling over on the adjoining East Calcutta Wetlands. In New Town’s master plan, a site was earmarked in the Beonta mouza in South 24-Parganas, along the Basanti highway, for setting up a solid waste dumping ground. The area is within the East Kolkata Wetlands and so, cannot be used for dumping waste.
The wetlands, called the kidneys of Calcutta, comprise around 65 water bodies which play a pivotal role in drainage, auto-filtration of effluent released from adjacent urban areas as well as recharging of groundwater. An order of Calcutta High Court prevents any activity in the wetlands that can alter the character of the sprawl. Apart from looking for a new site, the authorities had decided to introduce waste segregation at source and were aiming to achieve a zero-waste economy.