Jalandhar, Dec 07: The city's first bio-medical waste treatment plant will become operational by December 31, 2002 providing a big relief to the residents, who have been exposed to various health hazards from the waste generated by over 200 hospitals and nursing homes here.

The plant is being set up by Pecma, a private company, which has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the state unit of Indian Medical Association(IMA).
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had given clearance certificate to the company on October 30, 2002 after inspecting the site of the plant near industrial area of the city.
The plant will have the capacity to manage bio-medical waste generated by 8000 to 16,000 beds on a daily basis.The company will charge Rs two per bed per day for collecting the waste from hospitals, according to Pecma director N K Sehgal.
The plant would also be able to process the waste from hospitals in adjoining Kapurthala town and other areas in the vicinity of the city, he added.



Plant in charge Harcharan Singh said chemical treatment of gas emission from the '' environment-friendly'' plant will treat them before discharge to avoid any environmental damage.



Hospitals would provide segregated bio-medical waste in yellow and red plastic bags, prescribed by the (PPCB), so that the waste could be treated in required manner.


Bureau Report