Odisha to build Bhubaneswar ring road using municipal waste: Union minister Nitin Gadkari

Bhubaneswar: Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said here on Friday that the Centre will help Odisha utilise segregated municipal solid waste to construct the proposed ring road in the city.Addressing the gathering at the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) here, he said they have already experimented with the idea in Delhi and other places. “So far, we have used 80 lakh tonnes of municipal legacy waste for road construction. In Delhi, we reduced waste from the Ghazipur dump yard. We segregated the garbage and used it for road construction. We will do the same in Bhubaneswar. In this manner, we will help the Odisha govt keep Bhubaneswar clean,” he added.He said that the Centre sanctioned the Bhubaneswar ring road project recently. “It will be constructed in three packages. It is a very important project for Odisha’s capital city. For this, bhoomi puja (groundbreaking ceremony) will be conducted very soon,” he said.The six-lane access-controlled ‘Capital Region Ring Road’, stretching 110.8 km, will be constructed at a total cost of Rs 8,307.7 crore. The bypass road will ease traffic congestion on NH-16 between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

It is expected to be completed in two and a half years.The city generates around 800 metric tonnes of garbage daily. After the closure of the Bhuasuni dumping yard, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) keeps the collected waste at the temporary transit station (TTS) near Sainik School and processes it through micro composting centres (MCC)s and material recovery facilities (MRF)s.Processing the collected garbage has been an issue for the civic body.

“If it is used for road construction, the huge pile of waste near Sainik School will be reduced. It will help us keep the city clean and free from the stench at TTS,” said a BMC official.Apart from using garbage, Gadkari also spoke about eco-friendly practices in road construction. “It is our responsibility to protect the ecology and environment. The road sector contributes to around 40% of pollution in our country. It is our policy to focus on import substitutes, cost-effective, pollution-free and indigenous methods,” he added.The minister suggested that bamboo can be used for constructing road barricades in Odisha like in the northeast. “From rice straw, we can generate bio-bitumen and use it in road construction. Odisha produces ample quantity of rice straw, and they can be turned into bio-bitumen so that it will provide extra income to farmers,” said Gadkari.He also said that steel slag can be used for road construction in the state, while used tyres can be added to bitumen. “Besides, we are trying different techniques to make road construction environmentally-friendly without compromising quality,” he added.