Pune: Symbolic Protest by Seventh-Grade Student Catalyzes Response on Waste Depot Relocation
Kunjirwadi, 2nd December 2023: For a decade, residents, students, parents, teachers, and staff have been urging the village panchayat to relocate the waste depot in Kunjirwadi, situated adjacent to the Gramin Sarvangin Vikas Vidyalaya and ZP School Kunjirwadi in Taluka Haveli. Frustrated by the lack of progress, seventh-grade student Aditi Dnyaneshwar Sawant initiated a symbolic one-day hunger strike in front of the Gram Panchayat office yesterday.
Joined by fellow students, Aditi’s protest gained momentum throughout the day, drawing attention to the longstanding demand for waste depot relocation. In response to the demonstration, the Gram Panchayat administration announced its commitment to shifting the garbage depot. Following this assurance, Aditi concluded her hunger strike in the afternoon.
Kunjirwadi, with a population of 25,000 to 30,000, is a hub for nursery businesses, attracting a significant number of migrant labourers. The Gram Panchayat School, catering to hundreds of students from various localities, has been grappling with the adverse effects of the nearby garbage depot. Wind dispersal scatters garbage into the school garden, while burning trash emits smoke that reaches the classrooms, causing health issues among students.
Residents have cited political differences among Gram Panchayat members as a reason for neglecting the garbage depot relocation issue. Despite this, the Gram Panchayat has taken steps to address the problem, allocating a budget for garbage collection and initiating the online tender process. The administration is determined to accelerate the waste depot relocation and has secured a temporary four-acre site for dumping waste.
In response to the longstanding demand for the relocation of the waste depot in Kunjirwadi, Savita Bhujbal, Village Development Officer, stated, “The Gram Panchayat Kunjirwadi has made a budget for garbage collection, and after the technical approval of the budget, the online tender process has been done on 24 November 2023. After completing this administrative process, the Gram Panchayat administration will start collecting garbage on Monday (4th). The Gram Panchayat is serious about the issue of waste depot relocation. The work is progressing rapidly. Also, Gorakh Ghule has made his four-acre area available to the Gram Panchayat administration temporarily for dumping the said waste.”
Aditi Sawant, a 7th-grade student at Gramin Sarvangin Vikas Vidyalaya in Kunjirwadi, expressed her concerns about the garbage depot near her school, stating, “I am studying 7th standard in Gramin Sarvangin Vikas Vidyalaya in Kunjirwadi. There is a garbage depot near our school. The garbage in this garbage depot has a very bad smell. Burning garbage creates smoke in the classroom. It causes a lot of trouble. Nausea, headache, dizziness, and vomiting are caused by this disease. Stray dogs come upon this waste. We are afraid that they might attack. Flies sit on food while eating school food. I was on a hunger strike to demand that the garbage be shifted from the depot. I have called off the fast because the gram panchayat has informed me that the garbage collection will start soon.”
