Bhopal reclaimed 37acres of wasteland by clearing legacy waste | The Cleanest Cities of India | Ep-9

Executive Producer: Arnab Pratim Dutta
Managing Producer: Joel Michael
Camera & Editing: Joel Michael, Adithyan PC, Midhun Vijayan & Aishwarya Iyer
Voice Over: Aishwarya Iyer, Tushita Rawat
Motion Graphics: Sunny Gautam
According to government data, there are more than 3,000 dumpsites in India that need to be reclaimed or closed permanently. And one of the best models to remediate these dumpsites can be found in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal has reclaimed 37 acres of land which was once a dumpsite for the entire city. Waste was dumped in this area for over 30 years and contained over 7.5 Lakh Tonnes of legacy waste. So, How did Bhopal do it?
Bhopal is known as “the City of Lakes”. It is a city steeped in heritage. A city that is a delight for food lovers. But what is little known is that Bhopal is also a city with a robust waste management system. But this city, which generates around 800 tonnes of Municipal solid waste every day was not clean like it is today. Till 2017 Bhopal did not segregate its waste. This unsegregated waste used to end up at a 37-acre dump site at a place called Bhanpur Khanti. This dumpsite has been in existence for more than 30 years and in this period accumulated over 7.5 Lakh tonnes of legacy waste resembling a small hillock filled with rotting garbage. As the dumpsite became a major environmental hazard for the people of Bhopal, The Bhopal Municipal Corporation decided to take action. In 2018, BMC decided that a public-private partnership was the way to resolve the dumpsite problem in Bhanpur Khanti. ‘Saurashtra Enviro Projects Pvt Ltd’ a company involved in Municipal Solid Waste Management Processing was selected as the concessionaire to carry out bioremediation. Saurashtra began their work by preplanning every detail of the project. A thorough, topographical survey including taking measurements of the depth of MSW below the ground and physiochemical characterization of the dumpsite was carried out. BMC and the concessionaire then chose a unique hybrid model of Bio Mining and Bio capping to carry out the remediation process. Out of the 37 acres of land, 21 acres was to be recovered through biomining and the rest 16 acres was decided to be capped. A total of 1.8 Lakh tonnes of waste was recovered using biomining. The next step was to deal with the rest of the waste by using the method of bio capping. After digging the land, a layer of high-density polythene liner was placed, over which a trapezoidal waste structure is made as a part of the capping process. The treatment of leachate and the gases that emerge from the dumpsite is also important during the capping process. And today, after 3 years of back-breaking work, this is how Bhanpur Khanti looks. The 37-acre of land in Bhanpur has been reclaimed and 16 acres of this has been developed into a green area. The BMC is now planning to commercially use this reclaimed land. But for Bhopal getting rid of this eyesore was just the beginning. Today, Bhopal employs source segregation practices including door-to-door segregation. It is also promoting decentralised solutions like home composting across the city to further strengthen its waste management system. They also use GPS based tracking technologies to ensure that waste gets collected, segregated and processed every step. Bhopal has set a model for the rest of the country. It has shown that legacy waste in dump yards can be effectively remediated using appropriate technology solutions. It could become a model for the remediation of the 3000 odd dumpsites in cities across the country.

[@d2genx]

Congratulations to Bhopal Municipal Corporation and the people of Bhopal ..You've set up an example for the rest of us to follow. Love from Kerala.

[@zaibaasghar2468]

Honour to hear from a Keralite where beauty is everywhere even in people's heart all the love from your indian sister from other part of the country (Bhopal)....

[@anshuull]

@@zaibaasghar2468 lov you

[@Claude1Rochon]

i am very happy that you can find peace with nature and build a better future. long live earth . long live water

[@shekhartripathi4300]

Its 2 km away from my house, and i can say that the work by BMC to improve this site was awesome !

[@aryanjaiswal752]

Me from Patel market 😅👍 can be understand

[@ShubhamKar.]

BMC or Naga Nigam?

[@aryanjaiswal752]

@@ShubhamKar. Both are same

[@yashwant675]

me piplani me rehta hu bhai

[@traunguatam8288]

Bhai me karond me rehta hu. Tum kanha rhte ho

[@DivyanshBalchandani]

I used to frequent the highway beside this landfill a few years back, and used to hold my breathe so as to not inhale the fowl smell. In just a few years, BMC has brought amazing transformation to the area and it shows on the ground level.

[@ravindranathbasa6915]

Where there is a wil

[@ravindranathbasa6915]

Where there is a will there's a way

[@rohanchauhan9397]

Where there is mamaji, there is a way.

[@choncord]

@@ravindranathbasa6915 Where there's no corruption, there's a way.

[@Ramiz422]

@@rohanchauhan9397 mamaji took 15 years to wake up.

[@prashkd7684]

10,000 years from now when humans find remains of these "waste pyramids", they will wonder why and how we built these marvellous structures 🤣. Joke aside I'm glad Mamaji has started paying attention to some real development in the state.

[@starylkkk3073]

Haha correct😜

[@montyi8]

They'll think it's *Alein* technology

[@AyushSingh-th8wo]

Indore bhi apne idhar hi hai , undoubtedly best cities

[@sumansinghjena7039]

He always did mamaji is great

[@briju0953]

Mamaji is good. Anyway, It's all recorded, No way for conspiracy theories..

[@SK15]

Only a visionary leadership can conceptualize such social projects and ensure its implementation in a time bound manner. I bow to all those people involved in ensuring this noble cause.

[@ttttttttttttttttist]

they are taking these garbage mountains and just burning it, or dumping it around city as backfill, or stupidly using toxic landfill waste as fertiliser. Only the truly incompetent or ignorant could think this is a good idea.

[@diegovillalobos5364]

This info is good news to me! I am a costarrican/canadian citizen and I've had this idea that India is a very polluted country. Knowing that Bhopal is making efforts for a better cleaner society fills me with hope for a big chunk of our human civilization. Way to go Bhopal!

[@shivamKumarSINGH-ur5qr]

Very good innovation for reclaming our environment or to being Sustainable. I also hope that all remaining 3000 dumpsites would be recovered through these innovation. Government and private players should work collectively and make our country full of natural elements and sustainable friendly

[@mhomebody6239]

This thing was interesting. Now I can say I pay my electricity bills for these kind of informative videos!

[@ashishnaik568]

More city in India need to follow this model.

[@myexperimentswithtravels9338]

I am happy to hear this about Bhopal, as I had studied my B. E., here. I wish more such cases of Indore and Bhopal are spread across the country and also the globe.

[@roopa4950]

So glad to see such projects happening in India specially in Bhopal other states should follow. Whenever throw plastic feel bad but now days everything comes in them only. One more problem we should tackle.

[@jeslojohn7226]

Good to hear about these news from Bhopal if it can be done then so it be done in rest of India. Love from Kerala♥

[@vaibhavsharma5162]

Every city has such kind of piles, Every city needs a waste management plant ☘️☘️. Condition in UP is very poor regarding dump sites, Cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Agra Meerut needs this as soon as possible.. 🙏

[@gazz01]

Also Delhi Wazirabad

[@gyolsang]

Jhansi needs it more the whole city is a dumpyard 🤮

[@nilotpaldeb1551]

Not only UP every city have the same problem

[@nilotpaldeb1551]

The government don't do proper work 😡, if they use public money properly then every city can become clean like Bhopal

[@user-dt6ey3oy6h]

Jai bhopal Jai madhyapradesh ♥️ From TN

[@crossss3030]

Thanks bro Btw TN is an Amazing state I hope that every Indian state grows like TN

[@deepanshupandey165]

Love u brother my fvrt state tn

[@abhijeetkumar2204]

​@@crossss3030 TN is now worst performing

[@rockzilla1001]

I hope at Delhi we could learn from them here we see new mountains every year and old one getting bigger and bigger

[@trulyharsh]

Yeah but for this you guys will have to giveup the chooran of free electricity and free bus service (get rid of Aap govt in the next election)

[@0arjun077]

Well you guys only need freebies.

[@mukhiv1]

The municipality in Delhi is under BJP you idiots. Not under AAP. Don't make a fool of yourself.

[@vampire5131]

@@mukhiv1 Lmao those are andhbhakts, what do you expect ?

[@vampire5131]

@@trulyharsh Bhakt

[@CrownRider]

Close to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, they turned a landfill into a recreational park with a golf course, called Spaarnwoude, back in the seventies. It is a very nice area now.

[@pranayp1950]

What ???? I used to pass by Bhanpur everyday as my college commute just 4 years ago . Can't believe they managed to do this. I have to see this with my own eyes when I come back to Bhopal. I thought something like this was not possible.

[@mohdyasir6010]

I have done up down from Vidisha to Bhopal , sometimes in nights I fall asleep while in train , come to know though the smell that bhopal has come. Big salute to BMC

[@deadnlovingit]

Kickass work by Mamaji and BJP government all over MP. MP has some of the cleanest cities in India, it cannot be a mere coincidence - only a true mama would care about the home he manages! Well done Bhopalis, and overall MP people....so proud to hear this over and again!

[@debasisbag7099]

Chatora chela.self resp3ct hai ya dalla hai

[@frauyodortmund]

​@@debasisbag7099 average chungrezzi

[@nayanikamishra4010]

The time when I step in bhopal from my hometown I can visible see how clean the city is. It has only been an year here..and yes the cleanliness is something I always say when I'm back home!

[@kyakrogejaanke4965]

Nice to hear 😊

[@abhilashapandey1281]

Amazing efforts of BMC..a role model for all other municipal corporations.👏👏

[@pradeepr3469]

BMC is normally used for BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation.

[@mytravls]

@@pradeepr3469 she is being sarcastic.

[@vampire5131]

@@mytravls i don't think so

[@shraddhachunekar466]

Bhopal municipal corporation

[@dhanjeepandey4252]

Great work...should be adopted by all cities and towns.

[@Life_is_Awesome_Civil]

My home is near that site and earlier lots of smell but now it smells very sweet

[@Claude1Rochon]

best wishes

[@sejnaaa]

It definitely seems attractive now like a green mountain I saw the pile of waste before .. and after lockdown it indeed blew my mind the once, foul smelling and the dirty pasture was lively and clean .. 💚

[@skrocks2522]

It sholud be converted into park or something commercial etc?

[@mah_daddy]

It is so inspiring that our neighborhood country, India has found such an innovative solution to get rid of tons of human waste and also cleared water supply problem. Hope Bangladesh WASA and city corporations watch this video and do something like this for our people.

[@shivamsharma-wm1ob]

shivaraj Singh chouhan is the most underrated leader of india, he's so good as mp cm, hats off to mamaji

[@rajatpachauri7349]

To fir haraya kyuun tha 2018 mein 🤬🤬. What he did for development of MP is almost equivalent to what Yogi is doing for UP and what Modi did for GUJARAT in his CM tenure. But caste politics never believe in development.

[@deepanshupandey165]

Bhai kisne kaha underrated hai yogi ji ki baad ussi ke jalwe hai jagah follower wagrah bhi ussi ke jada hai

[@sheronjames1453]

Congratulations Bhopal ❤ from Kerala

[@DJ-bh1ju]

Well done... a great story from a city almost wiped out in 1984.....

[@vipahman]

That explains why I missed my train stop in Bhopal as my trip was odourless.

[@niksjose8197]

Simply amazing...Many congratulations to all for achievement....

[@prasenjitdey4222]

"Down to Earth" ... Akhir Mitti hi hain Sona Bhopal Congratulations!!!👍👏👏🇮🇳

[@nikhilthakran]

Well done to the whole team for the transformation and well being of Bhopal residents!

[@saddam1990]

Salute to shivraj singh chauhan mama for such a lovely project in bhopal

[@neelamshettye689]

Please teach this to Mumbai BMC as I can see more and more dump sites and smelling like hell

[@shubhampatel7598]

Mumbai is falling. Indore, Surat and Vizag will be the next hotspots for employment.

[@DrStrange177A]

Madhya prasesh is setting an example for every city of India. Hygiene and sanitation is choice.

[@saimandebbarma]

Everything is possible when you have the right mindset & determination.

[@vikramrao2400]

Fantastic job MP.

[@Ahmed-yf5en]

This is called perfect modern urbanization which cares every shareholders of this beautiful city

[@friendlyatheist9589]

finally we can say whole india need to learn from MP. i hope my city becomes as clean as bhopal. it's not just the efforts of government but people need to understand their responsibility too

[@GoodBalak]

I live near this area now. Earlier, this would have been unimaginable. BMC has done a commendable job handling the dumpsite.

[@devnani9263]

Great work by BMC. It is required that such things should continue by BMC with involvement of every individual to make this success story a continuous and sustainable.

[@Tiraskaar]

I lived in bhopal for 4 years for my engineering degree i and must say I'm impressed with the way the infrastructure is handled. Most colleges are in the outskirts of the city, and so most students live close to it. Even these outskirts are clean, the roads are good, the transportation is good. That's just the outskirts, when you go to the main city oh god just oh god. I'm back home now but I still can't get the feeling of riding my bike in the beautiful roads of the city❤️. Great roads, trees all around, clean fresh just awesome.

[@glleeren7276]

If Bhopal and Indore concentrates on employment and investments and becomes a mega city these twin cities will be the best in India.

[@vikramlodhi2885]

Its a backbreaking task for BMC and SAURASTRA PVT. LTD. , ITS A power of PPP model , i give homage for this work done by ground worker and good quality leadership And what's about the waste treatment of patra river ( nalla ) which is spot on the moon ? It's beginning not the end !

[@yoginderbagga6622]

Commendable job by Bhopal govt. Hope the same model gets implemented in Delhi also soon.

[@greengoblin6128]

It's good to watch a positive news now and then. Thank you for this D2E . And thank you Bhopal.

[@vivekgupta4030]

We srsly this kind of waste management in delhi too.. mcd and delhi govt is doing nothing for waste management in delhi.. delhi's garbage is an environmental crisis.

[@shivcreations4934]

Superb job....hats off to everyone involved. You have turned a stinking dumpyard to a beautiful garden..kodos

[@SonyJacobThomas]

Congratulations to everyone involved. Reclaiming 37 acres of landfill is no mean feat and you have proved it is doable. With Indore being the cleanest city in India, MP is certainly making giant strides in becoming the cleanest state in India. I hope other states follow suit.

[@socialistsolidarity]

@Down To Earth, another great video on the cleanest cities of India. Please continue this series. 🙏🏾

[@Intro.Reactiverse]

Indore & Bhopal are best example of cleanliness

[@abhinav.singh9987]

My teacher suggested me to watch this video, that's why I am watching it in between gap... Other cities also should follow this method to manage the wastes...

[@AscentArchives12354]

Wonderful, all states should learn from this. This should be made mandatory

[@Karvy365]

Eagerly waiting for all upcoming videos 😀

[@altcodex5625]

Bhopali here, this was a huge dump site and was very unpleasant to see, whenever you pass by, the way it has been transformed is truly a great achievement.

[@mirrorflame1988]

Wow superb! Really good initiative! Need more of this to wipe out the large garbage dumps present in the world currently (land and oceans)

[@Masood1810]

At the base of this mountain they should plan local trees and shrubs all around (if access isn't required).

[@ferstuck37]

If that can be done all over it will be extremely beneficial to all.

[@Nature_ElegancE]

# Every city of India learn from this example 👍👍

[@kishinchhabria]

This is what matters. This is what everyone should be interested in.

[@tiaansea3319]

Great content, DTE!! Always go back, enlightened & hopeful. 🌿

[@matthiasschmatz8101]

I love that Bhopal has chosen a better way to deal with its trash. I remember the city was in the news some 30 years ago. There was a big poison accident with lots of people been killed. We have to reduce our amount of trash. Not only in India but worldwide. I'm now 63 and i know a time there was no plastic. And look how our world developed into one big landfill. It has to stop! NOW!

[@theaspiringphysician7704]

I think MP has the best waste management system..first Indore,now Bhopal…all other states need to replicate it real fast🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@KhabbuKiKitchen]

this video genuinely got me teary eyed..super happy to see such positive changes..More power to the dedicated employees of the municipal corporation who did their jobs with such excellence.

[@ritafarrow8734]

enjoyed the video,may all this work continue so not just in india but in other countries around the world,keep spreading the word and never give up,thank you for sharing

[@ajayjha2705]

One of the best initiative in our country

[@sheemu87]

Born and Lived here my whole life... I love my city from bottom of my heart...!!!!!

[@sayeeshpillai5842]

Nothing to say except THANK YOU👍👍👌👌

[@Cidanandas108]

Great... India will lead as model country

[@shantaramkrishnan8839]

So good to see hearts and minds being applied for directing what had to be done and needs to be done.This is important work..let it go a long way into every area of dumpsites long neglected in every state of India.🙏

[@ashafred]

Wish the same could be followed in Mumbai !!!

[@anikasharma9733]

Love to see this! More of these initiatives should happen within the country.

[@rameshemv]

Amazing!! This is an example for every major city in India to emulate.

[@krishdsouza4068]

Commendable.. Very good , other cities of country need also to conscious on this problem and tackle like this..

[@ferstuck37]

If that can be done all over! it would be very beneficial to all.

[@neemtreetalks3]

That's a very practical solution to decade old problem...

[@surajitbhuin5242]

Great work... thanks to all

[@adilshah7450]

Great documentary!!!

[@tanmayjoshi5160]

this is beautiful ... hats off to people involved

[@zaqs1970]

GREAT JOB DONE.....THEY HAVE SET THE EXAMPLE

[@Travelfriendindia]

Excellent effort much appreciated, to be followed by other places

[@ravisingh2144]

Really great work by bhopal govt, engineers and nagar nigam. There are very few govt who are looking at env. Amazing, this should be done as part of center effort now

[@lisayip4305]

印度气候，地理位置都很好，应该好好管理，开展高科技农业。

[@aketoassumi4356]

Every cities and towns should do the same, great job BMC, 👍👍

[@asutoshkumargupta3173]

It's amazing!! Small steps taken will show a great impact in the future...kudos to the government👌

[@LalitKumar-om2ut]

Salute to bhopal govt. I hope delhi adopted this solution soon

[@Samuel-yz1sm]

Bhopal truly seems to be leader for the rest of the country!!

[@ss0498]

Good news , same should be implemented in every city of india. Peoples mindset should change always blaming the government won't yield any results.

[@YatharthKrishan]

Excellent work, Amazing.. Many congratulations to BMC

[@vks4013]

Great work this is the real engineering hats off 👏👏👏👏👏

[@ashishtiwari1912]

@Down To Earth - Please encourage such initiatives in UP. It's badly needed here.

[@prakashrnair]

This is amazing work. Hope other cities notice this and implement such measures

[@ShivamGupta-wf5ni]

MP is doing excellent in cleanness.Hope Delhi-NCR can learn from MP and most important resident have to support the government stop littering.

[@dreamzzunlimited1573]

I wish same can be replicated in all big metro cities in India 🇮🇳

[@devannnn7204]

Hats off to this man

[@ksrichi]

Kudos. Really inspiring. Need to manage the waste elsewhere similarly.

[@suraz63]

Amazing work !!

[@vishalghayal531]

Hat's off to great work 🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️

[@clivejd]

Fantastic video !

[@srinivasangkailasam8952]

Lovely city steeped in history. Kudos to the CM and his administration