Tiles, bricks made from debris helping reshape Sangam city ahead of Mahakumbh

In an innovative and eco-friendly step, tiles, pebbles and bricks made from tons of construction waste and debris collected from across Sangam city is being used in the development works being undertaken by the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) for the Mahakumbh-2025.

PMC had set up a construction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling plant at Baswar in December 2021.

The municipal corporation is not only buying 40% of the finished construction products from this plant but also helping to sell them. Due to this, cheap and environment-friendly construction materials are also being made available to the citizens, said officials.

Established under Prayagraj Smart City Project, this is the first C&D plant of Uttar Pradesh, which is being managed by the Municipal Corporation and is designed to minimise environmental impact and maximise resource recovery, they said.

“This plant is not only helping to keep our city clean but also providing affordable building materials to citizens. We are utilising bulk of these building materials for many of the development works being undertaken in run up to Mahakumbh-2025,” said Chandra Mohan Garg, municipal commissioner of Prayagraj.

Uttar Verma, environment engineer, PMC, said that plant’s records show that this year alone, the total construction and demolition waste collection was over 71,089 tons while over 68,631 tons of it was processed by the plant.

The reclaimed material helped produce 22,60,321 CC bricks which were sold for over ₹1.56 crore besides 6,83,120 interlocking tiles which were sold for over ₹1.05 crore besides 3390 kerb stones which were sold for over ₹1.93 lakh, he added.

A major part of these products was used in development and beautification projects undertaken ahead of Mahakumbh-2025 in city, he added.

The C&D plant located in Baswar is capable of processing 200 tons of waste per day. The plant uses advanced technology to convert waste into useful products such as CC Bricks, interlocking tiles, curve stones and pots and checkered tiles etc.

Apart from this, small concrete pieces or pebbles are also made from the debris, which are useful in floor casting work. This not only provides strong construction material to the construction sector, but also disposes of construction waste properly, which improves the environment.

These products are not only stronger than their traditional counterparts but are also available at a competitive price. The products manufactured at the plant are not only environment- friendly but also meet the highest quality standards, Garg said.

15 centres for debris collection

To make the recycling of debris even more effective, the PMC has set up collection centres at 15 locations across the city. Here people can deposit the debris coming out of their homes or businesses. This makes it easier for citizens to dispose of the debris and ensures that the debris reaches the right place and becomes a part of the recycling process. Apart from this, PMC has issued a toll-free number 1920, through which people can get information about the collection of debris and deposit the debris at these centres.

Cost of plant and machines

The cost of this C&D plant is over ₹5.87 crore. The company has used state-of-the-art machines in this plant, which produce a variety of construction products. These machines efficiently process the debris and convert it into new construction material. Due to the modernity and high technological capability of the plant, it is not only contributing to environmental protection but also providing quality material for construction work in the city.

Designated Collection Centres

• Colvin Hospital, KN Katju Road

• Near Port Stadium, Lakdi Mandi Khuldabad

• Dumping Site, Attarsuiya

• Ganga Darshan Transformer, Mehadauri

• BSNL Office, Mumfordganj

• Sagun Nilyam, Beli Road

• Near Holland Hall, Colonelgunj police stn

• Near Drain infront of Gora Graveyard

• Haiza (IDH) Premises

• Dumping Site Near Daragunj Railway Station

• Land Adjacent to road outside Bhatta Village, Near MRF Centre

• Land Adjacent to Jahangirabad Fisheries Pond Road

• Next to Park Near Port Station, Transport Nagar

• IERT Ground, Salori

• Near Primary School, Andawan