Kerala - Kochi   

Stalemate over waste disposal at Kalamassery continues

KOCHI: The city will stink in the coming days as the meeting convened by District Collector M. Beena to find a solution to the garbage issue ended in a virtual stalemate on Thursday.

The meeting had to be convened after the Kalamassery municipality withdrew the permission to dump non-biodegradable waste generated in Kochi Corporation limits in its dumping yard on Wednesday, alleging that the district administration violated the conditions based on which the permission was granted.

At Thursday’s meeting, the representatives of Kalamassery municipality declined to reconsider their decision to withdraw permission. They, however, said that the municipality was prepared to accept a share of the non-biodegradable waste from the Corporation provided the dumping yards of other local self-government bodies were also utilised for the purpose.

“We agreed to explore the possibility of the suggestion. A meeting of the representatives of all the local self-government bodies included in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) would be convened on June 17 to discuss this suggestion,” she said. Thirteen grama panchayats and two municipalities are included in the project.

Meanwhile, it is also learnt that a suggestion to dump the waste at the temporary dumping yard at Padiyathukulam till a solution is reached has also come up.

It is clear that the district administration would have to find an interim solution to the issue at the earliest as huge quantities of waste have started piling up at various points in the city, raising serious health concerns. That monsoon is yet to intensify is the only reason why the problem has not yet gone out of control. Dr. Beena said the meeting scheduled for June 17 was a preliminary one. Even if the proposal to utilise the dumping yards of various local self-government bodies were to be accepted, it would take time to actually dump the waste in those yards.

“Pollution Control Board officials would have to inspect the dumping sites and give clearance for the dumping to begin,” the Collector said.

MLAs A.M. Yousuf, C.M. Dinesh Mani and V.K. Ebrahim Kunju; Deputy Mayor C.K. Manisankar; Kalamassery municipal chairperson V.M. Arifa; vice-chairman I.M. Abdul Rahman; Councillors K.V. Manoj, T.K. Shamsudeen, Abdul Rahman, A.K. Basheer, Mujeeb Rahman, Gracy Peter and T.K. Mani, Deputy Commissioner of Police T. Vikram; Revenue Divisional Officer M.K. Joseph; tahsildar K. Velayudhan Pillai, Corporation Secretary Mini Antony; and health officer C. Santha attended the meeting.

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