Dump on us: BMC's Debris-On-Call service a hit, thanks to toll free nos

In a desolate area in Dahisar's Kokanipada, at the northern edge of the city, is the answer to one of Mumbai's pressing problems - it's a graveyard of rubble and other debris brought here from across Mumbai, on complaints lodged by citizens on two toll-free numbers and via a mobile application.

- Sabah Virani

MUMBAI:

Stacked in heaps on the 5-acre property is debris from homes and from small-scale construction sites, repair and demolition waste, and even road dust.

But the real magic happens in a plant on-site, one that pulverises the debris into miniscule, sand-like aggregate that can be recycled to make non-structural items such as paver blocks, road dividers and sidewalk stones.

It's already clear that the Debris-On-Call service, launched recently by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to citizens at affordable rates, will be in great demand. The Kokanipada plant - there's another one in Kalyan for the eastern suburbs and island city - has already processed 16,000 tonnes of debris since the testing phase in August. And, since the two toll-free numbers were announced a week ago, trucks bringing in the raw material have been lining up at the dumping yard.