IoT-enabled smart fencing for garbage disposal in Kolkata

To track the movement of the vehicles carrying garbage and check whether they are disposing of waste daily, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) is planning to set up an Internet-of-Things (IoT)-enabled smart fencing on a 17-km stretch on New Town’s main arterial road from Mahisbathan box bridge to Biswa Bangla Gate in Action Area I.

Officials said that currently, there are bamboo-made fences off the main arterial road and median dividers. “The idea is to replace this bamboo fence with steel fencing that will have RFID readers tagged with them. The vehicles carrying garbage will also be tagged with RFID readers as the fencing off the road can detect the vehicles and will send messages to the control room to check whether the vehicles are collecting waste properly,” said an official. The project will, however, not be carried out till the elections are over.

The authorities are also planning to introduce a 24-hour monitoring system for 50 dustbins of 240-liter capacity each, installed on the main arterial road in New Town. The waste bins will have level sensing to send alert once they are full.

NKDA officials visited the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET) Haldia to discuss several issues like testing compostable plastic bags and strength of plastic paver blocks before they start a pilot project to make the markets plastic-free across the township.

NKDA officials have placed a few samples of compostable plastic bags to CIPET for tests. “We have sought feedback from them whether better compostable plastic bags and plastic paver blocks are available. We were waiting for this expert opinion and now we will update the project report, based on which the work will start,” said an official.