The Mangaluru Smart City Ltd (MSCL) has begun the implementation of its QR code-based solid waste management system (SWMS), which is set to cover all the 60 wards of Mangaluru, in a phased manner. The first-of-its-kind garbage collection system will markedly increase the efficiency of solid waste management in the south Indian city.
The first phase of SWMS will cover 88,000 houses – so far 5,000 houses have been installed with the QR codes. The commissioning of QR codes for the rest of the houses is expected to be completed by the end of November.
The smart garbage collection system will help the City Corporation track the movement of the garbage vehicles, monitor the status of the garbage collection and provide provisions for the public to record complaints about garbage collection.
The door-to-door primary garbage vehicles will scan the QR codes displayed at the gates of the houses while collecting the garbage. The vehicles will then transfer the garbage to the secondary garbage vehicles and from there the garbage will be sent to the dumping yard.
The QR code installed at houses can also be extended for other public services such as payment of electricity bills, property tax, and phone bills, among others.
Mangaluru Smart City will be one of the first smart cities in Karnataka to go live. Several internet of things (IoT) and technology-enabled solutions like monitoring city bus transport with an intelligent transport management system, disaster management and emergency response, the air quality of the city using environmental sensors, city surveillance, variable message system, public address system, geographical information system and One Touch Mangaluru portal are already deployed.
The Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC) of Mangaluru Smart City, a major component of the smart city project, is already being used as a war room for the administrators to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.