KOCHI: Piles of garbage dumped in public places and empty plots are becoming more rampant in city limits in the last few months. Garbage piles near Mangalavanam bird sanctuary located on High Court Road and opposite Skyline apartments in Gandhi Nagar, Kadavanthra, is teeming with household plastic and food waste.
According to Bipin Vijayan, a Gandhinagar resident, it is even being dumped in front of the State Pollution Control Board Building. Heaps of garbage can also be seen along P and T Colony and Udaya colony in Kadavanthra, according to Ranjit Thampy, a social activist. The unhygienic area which is near the High Court is the path to Queen's Walkway, a popular destination for fitness enthusiasts of the city.
S Sasikala, Ravipuram councillor, said notifying landowners is a great way to curb such activities. "They should also be advised to clean their land and erect large fence sheets to prevent dumping of waste in their compound.
The empty land could also be used by the owners or government institutions as pay and park facilities or for agriculture purposes,” she said. According to Sasikala, in addition to reducing waste menace, these measures will also help chase away antisocial elements.
Responding to the issue, Cochin Corporation's Health Standing Committee chairman T K Asharaf said that plastic waste treatment facilities and collection of segregated waste are being strengthened by the corporation.
He added that waste management was a problem mainly in areas shared by the corporation with panchayats and municipalities. Asharaf also said that it is necessary for the Corporation to keep track of how Kudumbashree is collecting and processing the waste. "We are also planning to place steel bins with small openings at crowded places to prevent littering," said Asharaf.