Kerala - Kochi   

Careless dumping of waste to be curbed

KOCHI: The district administration has taken upon itself the task of curbing the unhealthy practice of carelessly throwing away waste on roads and lanes by the residents of the city.

District Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish on Tuesday told reporters that tough measures, including slapping of fine, were on the cards against such irresponsible behaviour.

Besides, the district administration was also seriously considering the prospects of implementing in Kochi the strict regulations followed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in waste management. The Collector had asked Corporation Secretary Mini Antony to look into the salient features of the BMC regulations.

Strict measures would be taken to ensure that waste was being dropped only in the waste bins erected in the respective areas.

Henceforth, the officials of the Health Department, the district administration, Corporation and executive engineers of the Pollution Control Board, would closely monitor the garbage movement in the city, Mr. Hanish said.

Steps would be taken to invite fresh tenders for waste dumping and the supply of red soil to spread over the dumped waste. Till then the temporary measures being adopted would continue.

The Collector said that stringent measures were being contemplated to stop the residents of flats from flouting the regulations regarding waste disposal.

In such an event, members of the respective residence associations would also be made responsible, he said. The police have been directed to book vehicles involved in illegal dumping of waste.

Authorities are planning to implement a time schedule in waste collection and disposal. Under this, garbage collected would be temporarily stored at the transit depot at Padiyathukulam before moving it out in the evening to the dumping site owned by the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) at Kuzhikkala.

The Collector said that once this site was fully utilised, the other five possible sites identified by the district administration would be considered for the process.

A meeting has been convened at the District Collector’s Camp Office on Wednesday with the FACT management and the various trade union leaders to sort out the disagreements over waste dumping at Kuzhikkala.

The district administration with the active support of the Corporation and police authorities was well on course to clear the city of piled up garbage by Tuesday night.

“We are hoping that normality would be restored in waste management by Wednesday,” Ms Mini Antony said.

She said that 45 vehicles were deployed in the central city circle alone that had been identified as the main area of accumulated waste.

Meanwhile, a black day was observed in all divisions of the FACT on Tuesday in protest against the dumping.

A protest march and meeting under the aegis of the Joint Action Council was held in defiance of the prohibitory orders prevailing in the region.

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