KOCHI: The United Democratic Front (UDF)-led Opposition councillors walked out of the council meeting on Tuesday against the "reluctance" of Mayor Mercy Williams to inform the Corporation coun cil about the steps it proposed to take for clearing waste after the deadline set by Indian Navy to use its land expired.

The Mayor refused to inform the council about its future course of action though several councillors raised the issue at the meeting, said A.B. Sabu, UDF parliamentary party leader.

The Mayor abruptly ended the discussions and refused to elaborate on the steps the council planned. The Mayor insisted that all she had to say was included in the statement circulated among the councillors. However, there was nothing much in the statement on the mass cleaning operations undertaken on October 13, he said.

The UDF councillors later staged a dharna in front of the Mayor's chamber.

Earlier, speaking at the council meeting, Mr. Sabu said that the city was keenly awaiting the steps that the civic body planned to take regarding the clearance of solid waste from the city, as the deadline set by Indian Navy would end on October 31. The civic body could not keep its promise regarding the setting up of the plan, he said.

N. Venugopal suggested that the civic body should approach the Union Defence Ministry for seeking more time for dumping waste at its site at Wellingdon Island.

K.J. Antony suggested that there should be a round-the-clock system for clearing the waste at central city area and also the tourist centres.

V.J. Hyscinth suggested that the State Government should formulate comprehensive schemes for all the municipalities for clearing the city waste.

C.K. Manisankar, Deputy Mayor, said the Corporation would begin the construction of the waste treatment plant as planned earlier. He also suggested that the financial implications of the decision to lift the waste from the city with the support of external agencies should be transparent.

David Parambithara said the Corporation failed to provide implements for the cleanliness drive conducted on October 13. If the Corporation had made its stand clear, the residents and NGOs, which participated in the campaign, would have bought the implements for the drive, he said.

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