The Hindu : Kerala News : Brahmapuram a milestone for Kochi

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Thursday, Jun 19, 2008
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Kerala

Brahmapuram a milestone for Kochi

K.S. Sudhi

Once the operation goes full throttle, the plant will be able to treat 300 tonnes of garbage

Photo: H. Vibhu

CITY’S HOPE: A front-end loader churning waste at the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram.—

BRAHMAPURAM: It’s not the stink of garbage, which one may expect, that welcomes you to the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram but lathi-wielding policemen, who stop you at the gate and ask for the identity card.

As you approach the tipping floor, the stench of the garbage slowly engulfs you. A handkerchief worn around the nose will not save you from the pungent smell.

Yet, it is not nauseating as the stench that one experiences when passing through the Padiyath dumping yard near Convent junction.

The foul smell fades as you move towards the rear side of the plant and the air smells normal as anywhere in the city.

The blue-coloured newly-acquired covered vehicles of the Kochi Corporation could be seen queuing outside the tipping floor to transfer the heaps of trash collected from various parts of the city.

On the other side of the spacious yard, a front-end loader was busy churning the waste as steam escaped from the garbage heap due to the exothermic process.

Flies were swarming all over the garbage heaps. They hit the visitors to the yard quite often. You need both your hands to keep them away from landing on the face as you take a look at the various stages of processing of waste. A large number of crows were fearlessly picking food from the piled-up waste.

The plant is ready now for inauguration. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will formally inaugurate the plant on Friday at 11 a.m.

All the major works of the plant have been completed and what remains are some minor civil works, said M.P. Fernando, Director (Operations) of the Hyquip Technologies, the engineering, procurement and construction partner of the Andhra Pradesh Technology Development Corporation (APTDC). The APTDC is implementing the project for the Kochi Corporation.

The plant will be able to start the conversion of the first load of garbage into manure by June 23. It requires 40 days for converting the garbage into manure.

The first load of garbage reached the plant on May 16, said S. Kesavan Nair, general manager of Hyquip Technologies. There is around 40 per cent moisture in the garbage. There will be 60 per cent reduction of volume of garbage as bacterial action starts. The bacteria needs 24 hours to act on garbage, said Rahul Reddy, general manager, operations.

The exposed waste will be fully covered with dry waste to keep the flies away. The leachate that drains out of the heaps are collected in a 10,000-litre tank to be pumped over the heaps again for speeding up the bacterial action. Once the operation goes full throttle, the plant would be able to treat around 300 tonnes of garbage, Mr. Nair said.

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