Kerala - Kochi   

Residents continue agitation against dumping of waste

Staff Reporter

Mayor says the corporation has to abide by the High Court directive

MIRED IN CONTROVERSY: The proposed land at Brahmapuram where the solid waste treatment plant of the city corporation is to be built. Photo: Vipinchandran

KOCHI : Protest is brewing against Kochi Corporation's decision to dump municipal waste at Brahmapuram. Residents, living near the land identified for dumping waste, had launched an indefinite agitation from Tuesday.

In groups, they are guarding the road leading to the site to stop attempts to dump solid waste in the region. "We will continue our fight against the corporation's move to dump waste here," said Nissar Ibrahim, a resident and convener of the agitation.

He said that dumping of waste without setting up a treatment plant at the site would affect the lives of 58 families living near the site.

Public protests began after the Kerala High Court ordered the corporation to dump garbage at the site acquired for setting up a municipal waste management plant. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice V.K. Bali and Justice M. Ramachandran directed the civic body to reclaim the water body at the site.

The court also ordered that the corporation should approach the police if the locals obstructed dumping of waste. M.M. Monayi, MLA, who is spearheading the campaign against dumping of waste at Brahmapuram, said: "The Corporation has violated an earlier agreement that it will not dump waste in the area before setting up a treatment plant." He said the residents were not against treatment of waste at the proposed site. But the move to dump waste without setting up the plant was unacceptable, he said. Mr. Monayi said that Kadampray ar, a major water body near the site, would get polluted once the corporation started dumping waste in the area.

Former Director of the School of Environmental Studies under the Cochin University of Science and Technology V.N. Sivasankara Pillai said the authorities should have conducted a detailed environment impact assessment before dumping waste at the site.

Dr. Pillai said that wastewater from the land would directly reach Chitrapuzha if adequate precautionary measures were not taken.

He said the corporation should select such sites only after fulfilling the guidelines set by agencies like the Central Pollution Control Board. The impact of dumping municipal waste on the residents and water resources in the area should be analysed before going ahead with the decision to dump waste at Brahmapuram, he said. Trikkakara panchayat, which had earlier resisted the dumping of waste fearing pollution of Kadamprayar, has not yet taken a stand on the issue. Panchayat president Sabitha Kareem said: "Dumping of waste should be done without causing problems to the public."

Residents of the panchayat expressed apprehensions that the dumping of municipal waste at Brahmapuram would pollute Kadamprayar. Mayor Mercy Williams said that the corporation had not decided on a date from which waste would be dumped at Brahmapuram. She said that it would not be possible for the corporation to stretch its decision to implement the High Court directive.

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