KOCHI: As damaged furniture and electronic equipment from flood-hit houses are rapidly being cleared by the agencies, another steep challenge before the authorities will be disposing of the huge quantities of water-damaged stock accumulated at various warehouses. More than 100 big and small sized warehouses have lost stocks following the flood in Ernakulam district.
N A Mohammad Kutty, Managing Director of Falcon Infrastructure near Kalamasery alone has to dispose of degradable and non-degradable waste weighing around 600 tonnes from the warehouse. “Ours is a container freight station and goods can be removed only following the clearance from the Customs Department. The fish food, turmeric and green gram inside the containers are drenched and decayed. Once customs clearance is received and authorities provide us with a place to dispose of these goods, we are ready to remove it from here. Similar is the situation with warehouses in Eloor, Aluva, Kalamassery, Alangad and Paravoor areas,” he said.
The water level at the warehouse was around 8-9 feet and the entire export and import godowns were under water. “The flood has costed us around R50 crore loss. In this, we have lost R35 crore worth of stock alone. The containers with goods were floating in the water,” he said.
Recently, local residents approached Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Municipality after foul odour spread from decaying green gram stocked in the container at the warehouse. Most of the companies have warehouses at Eloor and Kalamassery area due to close proximity to the port.
Considering the upcoming Onam season, the warehouses were filled with stock including electronic goods. “Electric goods including television and refrigerators were inside our warehouse which is around 20,000 sq ft. All the goods are damaged by the flood. We have communicated with the company. However, the company is looking to do away with the damaged goods. We don’t know which agency will be handling the electric waste,” said Nazeer, a manager of a warehouse in Eloor.
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Suchitwa Mission Ernakulam District coordinator Siju Thomas said a district officer has been appointed to overlook the removal of waste from factories and warehouses. However, a majority of the companies do not know where to dump the waste. “If any company wants to dispose of flood-affected stocks, they can approach the district officer. Such huge load of waste has to be transported by the company at their expenses,” he said.
A KSPCB officer said the situation is grave as the waste from these warehouses will be three-fold higher compared with the waste from houses. “The waste dumps are already filled beyond their capacity. We have to find new places to get rid of the waste from warehouses. These waste have to be handled with care and require huge tracts of land for the disposal,” he said.