President Droupadi Murmu awards Goa sanitation worker

VALPOI: President of India Droupadi Murmu on Saturday presented Rasika Khandeparkar, a sanitation worker from Pissurlem village in Sattari taluka, the Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman, 2023, in New Delhi.
Khandeparkar was among the several women leaders from various parts of the country who were honoured for bringing transformation to their respective villages either through waste management or as water conservators.
The main duty of Khandeparkar is to collect plastic waste from various wards of designated villages, and once a fortnight take the collected waste to the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for shredding.
“She also segregates waste as plastic, glass or metal and stocks them separately,” said an official.
The segregated waste is then taken to the waste treatment plant at Saligao. The official said that Khandeparkar follows a strategic planning map to collect plastic waste. “She collects 0.06 tonnes of plastic discards every day from four villages, covering over 800 households,” the official added.
Khandeparkar does not consider her duty done with the collection of plastic. She also informs people about the alternatives, the official said.
Poriem MLA Deviya Rane said that she is proud of Khandeparkar as Pissurlem village forms a part of her constituency. “She has worked hard in this sector,” said Rane.