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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Textile recycling drive uplifts Navi Mumbai women

AI generated image Mumbai :  A quiet revolution is unfolding in Navi Mumbai’s Belapur – one that converts old clothes into new livelihoods - and transforms the lives of over 150 women participating in it.   The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), has set up India’s first municipal Textile Recovery Facility (TRF) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0” – empowering many humble home-makers and other women to rewrite their futures.   Working in the TRF...

Textile recycling drive uplifts Navi Mumbai women

AI generated image Mumbai :  A quiet revolution is unfolding in Navi Mumbai’s Belapur – one that converts old clothes into new livelihoods - and transforms the lives of over 150 women participating in it.   The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), has set up India’s first municipal Textile Recovery Facility (TRF) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0” – empowering many humble home-makers and other women to rewrite their futures.   Working in the TRF initiatives linked to textile recovery and upcycling, now the women earn between Rs 9,000-Rs 15,000 – catapulting them from the socio-economic margins into a growing ‘green economy’- gaining skills, confidence and financial independence.   The TRF’s pilot project has so far reached more than 1.15 lakh families and connected with over 350 housing societies through awareness drives and workshops. At the heart of this are Self Help Groups (SHGs), where women are trained, supported and encouraged to build their own micro-enterprises, said a NMMC official, preferring anonymity.   “At least 300 women of different age groups, mostly semi-literate and from lower-middle-class strata of society, have completed intensive training modules. They are now experts at identifying different fabrics, repairing them creatively, and selling their beautifully recycled products through different platforms,” the official told  The Perfect Voice .   The Belapur TRF is a sight to behold – there are piles of dirty, old, worn and torn saris, uniforms, sheets, denims and other fabrics. The teams of women carefully sort, assess, clean, and repurpose each clothing into something new, using a mix of hands-on expertise and technology. They decide what can be reused, recycled, or upcycled into a new product adding value to it, the official said.   The results are both practical and stunning – there are stacks of new bags, mats, pouches, garments, home décor, paper and other useful items born from their skilled hands – adding to a range of more than 400 such products.   There is no shortage of raw material as the three-month-old initiative has collected 30 tonnes textile waste, scientifically sorted over 25 tonnes, processed more than 41,000 items or 500 daily – diverting a significant volume away from landfills and ultimate waterbodies.   The waste collection is decentralized – 140 branded textile bins are placed in housing societies in eight NMMC Wards, with a target of 250 bins in the next few weeks – ensuring quick access and citizen involvement, thereby indirectly contributing to improving the lives of the women and SHGs silently ushering in the eco-friendly revolution. To promote awareness and exploit the markets, the TRF has participated in 30-plus exhibitions, and multiple public awareness events on the benefits of repurposing textile wastes using hand-held scanners, digital tracking and other resources – while pushing forward the PM’s dreams of Smart Cities Mission and Sustainable Development Goals.   Another TRF in Koparkhairane Buoyed by the success of the Belapur pilot, the NMMC plans to open a permanent, higher capacity TRF in Koparkhairane soon.   Since India generates an estimated 7.8 million tonnes of textile wastes each year, experts feel this could be trendsetter both in terms of environmental impact and generating dignified employment for the marginalized sections of society.   There were many early cynics, critics and challenges, but through a steady outreach, consistent engagement, deploying fibre-scanning technology and sheer dedication of the women helped iron out the teething problems to help materialise the dreams in NMMC.

People praise Army for protecting

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah interacts with displaced border residents at a shelter camp.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah interacts with displaced border residents at a shelter camp.

Garkhal (J&K): Men and machines of the armed forces worked meticulously to ensure the interception of Kamikaze drones and missiles fired by Pakistani troops targeting Jammu, drawing widespread appreciation from people.


India on Thursday night swiftly thwarted Pakistan's fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles, including in Jammu and Pathankot, after foiling similar bids at 15 locations across the country's northern and western regions, amid a military conflict between the two neighbours.


Looking after the operational area of Jammu under the command of the 9 Corps, the 26 Infantry Division, nicknamed the "Tiger Division", had put in place a robust air-defence system, virtually carving out an Israel-type Iron Dome to protect Jammu from a Hamas-style attack by Pakistan.


An official who was privy to the developments said it was a meticulous combination of men and machines in defence that thwarted such a massive Pakistani attack.


In the dead of night, Pakistan unleashed its most audacious assault on Jammu since the 1971 war, deploying a swarm of more than a hundred Kamikaze drones and missiles in a sinister attempt to devastate the city. But what followed was a show of unmatched precision, courage and resilience.


"We are indebted to our armed forces who have saved Jammu from a major attack by Pakistan. We appreciate them for their missionary work. We never thought these bombs could be neutralised in the air," Garkhal resident Sikender Singh said.


Singh, whose family, along with more than 500 villagers, has shifted to safer camps set up by the government in Mishriwala on the Jammu outskirts, said had the bombs not been intercepted, they could have caused massive deaths and destruction.


Finest system

The Army, backed by one of the world's finest air-defence systems, intercepted the aerial barrage with astonishing accuracy -- virtually every hostile object was destroyed mid-air. Not a single vital installation was touched. Not a single civilian life was lost.


"Eight missiles from Pakistan were directed at Satwari, Samba, R S Pura and Arnia. All were intercepted and blocked by air-defence units. Visuals over Jammu reminded exactly of a Hamas-style attack on Israel, like multiple cheap rockets," an Army official said.


He said the Pakistan Army is operating and behaving like Hamas. "Drones were sighted at multiple places along the western front -- confirmed to be hostile. They are being effectively engaged by our air-defence systems. Pakistani drone attacks have been reported at various locations along the western borders and are being effectively countered by the Indian armed forces," he added.


The multi-tier air-defence system, with a twin technological security architecture of Russian and Israeli surface-to-air missile setups and the indigenous Akash, was a game changer against such attacks.


Former Jammu and Kashmir director general of police S P Vaid appreciated the armed forces and their technological security systems for effectively dealing with the Pakistani attacks.


He said 50 to 60 air attacks by Pakistan over Jammu and other places were neutralised on Thursday night by the impregnable air-defence system of the country.


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