THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Illegally dumped voluminous waste threatens the success of the internationally acclaimed ‘Jalasamridhi’ project in Kattakada constituency. Kattakada MLA I B Satheesh who led the project says Kulathummal Canal may not be the only one affected.
Kulathummal Canal, the 11 km drain in the constituency which was cleaned and maintained under the Jalasamridhi project, now has huge waste dumps on its banks besides the septage that is disposed into the water body. Earlier this week, the police caught one such vehicle carrying septage to Kattakada in Malayinkeezhu.
“There are people who are aware of our CCTV locations helping to hoodwink us to dump the waste here. Many other water bodies and surrounding places are also facing such issues,” says the MLA. He said that the vehicles don’t have proper number plates and the perpetrators worked like well organised gang members leaving the authorities helpless. “The septage is also disposed, but we rarely catch them in the act as it is mostly done during night,” he said.
While there were talks about setting up night squads to tackle the issue, the authorities fear it might escalate things to a law and order problem.
Meanwhile, Kattakada panchayat president Ajitha S rues the residents’ resistance to waste management programs.
“When we decided to set up a plastic collection unit, there was severe local resistance. We are now setting it up at a temporary facility in Killy,” she says maintaining that the mass waste dumping in public places there was outsider job.