THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram district committee of the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad has come out against the biomedical waste management plant proposed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) at Elavupalam near Palode. The committee members demanded the authorities deny sanction for the plant which could adversely affect biodiversity.
They also demanded the IMA withdraw from the move to set up the plant in a place designated as ecologically sensitive by the Kasturirangan Committee. ‘’The IMA is for setting up the plant in an ecologically sensitive area when the Central Pollution Control Board insists plants that treat hospital waste should be set up far from human settlements and ecologically sensitive regions,’’ KSSP Thiruvananthapuram environment subject committee chairman V Harilal said, with convenor S L Sunil Kumar by his side.
They said the plant is being proposed in a plot near a tribal settlement. Though the land is a private property, it is surrounded by forest area and is close to Agastyavanam Biosphere Reserve, they said.
Pointing out that Myristica swamps were present in the region, KSSP functionaries said the swamps in the IMA plot were earlier cleared for cultivation. The presence of Myristica swamps shows how ecologically important the region is, they said. These swamps are tropical freshwater swamp forests found mainly in Kulathoopuzha, Anchal, Shendurney and Agasthya forest regions.Noting that the construction of the biowaste plant would completely destroy these swamps, the KSSP activists said it would affect the flow of Chittar river, a tributary of Vamanapuram river.