KOCHI: Kochi Mayor Adv M Anilkumar's house named 'Manimekhala' in Elamakkara is a model for solving the city's waste problem. The mayor and his wife, Smita, who is the in-charge of the Edappally Service Cooperative Bank branch, have set up a vegetable garden on the terrace by processing organic waste at home.
Eggplant, tomato, okra, lemon, green chilli, banana, grape, sapota, guava, papaya are some of the crops that are grown within the confines of the terrace. Watering the garden in the morning is the mayor's job. Fertilizing and maintaining it is his wife's. Both of them have set aside some time for this every day.
Smita says that the vegetable garden is a source of comfort to her when the mayor is busy. The mayor also clarifies that his daughters Shruti and Swathi often say that their mother talks to the plants a lot. Only inorganic waste from Manimekhala is given for processing.
Soil-based bio-bin for waste management
There are three soil bio-bins at home for waste management. After putting waste in them, they are inoculated and closed. It is stirred daily. Coir pith is added in between. There will be no foul smell. The Mayor says that he wants the HEAL (Health Environment Agriculture Livehood) Kochi project to be implemented in as many divisions as possible by the time the council leaves office.
'Live in harmony with nature. Separate and dispose of inorganic and organic waste. Build a vegetable garden in a suitable place at home.'
- Adv. M. Anilkumar, Kochi Mayor