THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A special council meeting on Friday approved the action plan prepared by the city corporation as part of its ‘Garbage Free New Kerala’ project. The civic body will organise awareness programmes on waste management until Monday, when a ‘haritha sabha’ will be convened.
A cleanliness drive in coastal areas and along the national highway, declogging of canals and ditches, and the installation of more kitchen bins and Thumboormuzhi-model waste treatment plants will be carried out as part of the project. Accumulated waste in each ward will be identified and disposed of.
BJP councillor Karamana Ajith accused the council of failing to properly deal with organic waste at source. He alleged that organic waste was being moved to pig farms and dumped in water bodies and drains. UDF councillor Johnson Joseph said garbage heaps have formed in many places, including the medical college hospital, and that these should be dealt with first. Members also said that plastic waste collected by the Haritha Karma Sena had also started piling up in many places. Health standing committee chairperson Jameela Sridhar, M R Gopan, P Padmakumar, Palayam Rajan, D R Anil, B Mohanan Nair, and others, also spoke at the meeting.
Anil and Johnson got into an argument over development work carried out by Shashi Tharoor at the medical college ward. While Johnson said the former had failed to back the local MP’s activity, the LDF councillor retorted saying Tharoor hardly visits the area, and that he had done nothing for the ward.
UDF’s Padmakumar intervened to cool tempers. Johnson also accused health officer Gopakumar of going slow on projects and that he had the protection of his relative, BJP councillor P Ashok Kumar. Ashok Kumar backed Gopakumar but added that they were not related. He stressed that the latter was a clean and efficient official.