An Assessment to Solid Waste Management System in the Rajshahi City Vodra Railway Slum Through Community Participation

Abstract

Better life is the first requirement of every people and for this a healthier environment is needed. Municipal solid waste is a serious environmental hazard and social problem in Bangladesh. But the Rajshahi city dwellers are not lucky for this because Municipal authorities acknowledge the importance of adequate solid waste collection and disposal as well as resource recovery. Therefore solid waste is indiscriminate by dumped on dumped in open spaces, streets, and drains, clogging the drainage system which causes serious health risks and degradation of the living environment. It has been found that about 170 tons of solid wastes of different types are being generated daily in Rajshahi. This paper aims to review the recent solid waste scenario in Rajshahi City Corporation. Finally, this paper will propose some probable measures for its management. Participatory Rural Appraisal approach (PRA) is applied to involve community people in solid waste management. This study to identify the existing condition of the solid waste management system by Resource map, Mobility map PRA tools and find out the problem by pairwise ranking matrix, cause-effect diagram PRA tools. There is also finding out possible solutions to a solid waste management system by SWOT analysis and Dream map. Findings from the study show that the Municipality, which is the sole provider of the solid waste management services neither performed this service efficiently nor fully involved the community to support it. This study thus underscores the importance of community participation by bringing together the Municipality and the local community in the participatory forum to discuss solid waste management problems and suggest appropriate solutions.