Concerned over open dumping of chicken waste in many parts of the district, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat on Tuesday constituted a committee to submit a status report within a month and suggest solutions to end the menace.
After the members at the district-level water and sanitation committee meeting objected to the dumping of chicken waste by chicken farms and shops on the roadside and other open places, M.R. Ravi, Chief Executive Officer of the panchayat, announced the formation of the committee, to be headed by the District Surveillance Officer.
Officials from the departments of Animal Husbandry, Health and Panchayatraj would be members of the committee.
Mr. Ravi said that the committee should also study the status of piggery units in the district.
The report should have the number of licensed chicken farms and shops, piggery units and also unauthorised ones. It should study whether they followed all hygienic norms, adhered to legal requirements and suggest steps for the safe disposal of waste. He said that there were many health issues involved.
The members expressed fears that open dumping of chicken waste would be a health hazard besides forcing people to endure the foul smell. They said that chicken farms have come up in residential localities bypassing the legal norms.
A health official said that there should be no houses in a 200-m radius of a chicken farm.
A member said that chicken traders from Hassan while returning home dumped chicken waste on the roadside and in open places. They collected chicken waste from the traders.
Deputy Secretary of the panchayat N.R. Umesh said that a district-level meeting of authorities of all hostels and temples would be called soon to apprise them of the need for the safe disposal of bio waste by setting up biogas units.
The panchayat was now involving education institutions under the “Namma Tyajya Namma Hone” campaign launched by the panchayat.
Mr. Ravi said that five gram panchayats to which show-cause notice has been issued for failing to curb dumping of waste on the roadside would be served with the second notice if they failed to comply with the first one.
Meenakshi Shantigodu, president of the panchayat, presided over the meeting.