These recommendations include composting of all biodegradable waste into bio-organic fertiliser and disposal of non-compostable waste at a sanitary landfill. Part of these recommendations are mandatory and part, discretionary. While the Pune Municipal Corporation additional commissioner, Deepak Kapoor, has planned an emergency meeting with concerned departments, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had already set the ball in motion.

Says senior medical officer, PCMC, Dr. Nagkumar Kunachji, ``We already use vermiculture for 50 tons out of the 300 tons of daily waste. As regards the landfills, we already use the sanitary landfill method near Moshi and are on the lookout for more sites. But like all good things, citizens' cooperation is a necessity.''

To enforce certain norms, shopkeepers who throw their waste onto the streets are fined Rs. 200 by the PCMC. That's just the first small step towards the disposal of the mammoth amounts collected daily. As for the rest, well, there's a Supreme Court sword that will dangle precariously...

A writer's perspective
The lady who won acclaim with her first book, God of Small Things, will be in the city soon. Booker Prize-winner Arundhati Roy will be coming to Pune on July 2 to speak on `A Writer in Society: The Greater Common Good' at a function to be held at 6 p.m. at the Abasaheb Garware College.

The author, who was recently in the news for donating her prize money of Rs. 15 lakh to the Narmada Bachao Andolan, had aired her views against the construction of big dams which leads to human displacement. ``She is a sensitive writer who has shown concern about the dam-affected. The talk will focus on how a writer perceives and responds to the events around her,'' says Sujit Patwardhan of Parisar, the organisers of the talk.

A film on the Barghi Dam by Anurag Singh and Jharna Jhaveri will also be shown. A press conference is to be held at the Pune Patrakar Bhavan on July 3.

Pub-lic support
Not many pubs would part with a Saturday night's collections. However, the Black Cadillac has promised the forthcoming Saturday's accumulations to the Kargil Disabled Soldiers' Fund. Jaws Events has invited singer Rahul D'Mello to perform there on July 3 from 8 p.m. onwards. The Malibu Carnival Kid will be doing his English pop numbers, and he has developed quite a reputation for his Ricky Martin act. According to the event managers, nobody feels they're doing charity. It's all for a noble cause!