THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Raising ecological concerns, the city corporation has dumped tonnes of pongala waste in the wetland near the Attukal temple premises. After the political row over the delay in cleaning up post pongala, the corporation swung into action and cleared tonnes of waste from the premises which is under the custody of the Attukal temple trust.
Former Attukal councillor R Unnikrishnan said that tonnes of unsegregated waste was dumped in the paddy field under the possession of the temple trust. “This is causing severe environmental issues in the region. They have failed to ensure segregation while removing waste, and mixed waste not only from within the premises but from other areas also dumped inside the premises. This is a clear violation,” alleged Unnikrishnan. He also pointed out that an attempt to dump waste in a wetland near Iranimuttom was stopped after local protests during the pongala festival days.
According to Attukal councillor S S Sruthi, the issue was unnecessarily politicised. “Many people have worked day and night behind such a massive festival.
The efforts of the temple authorities, government departments and the corporation staff should not be ignored. We have cleaned and gathered the waste at one place. Due to continuous work for nearly 10 days, there was a slight delay in removing it, but it will be shifted very soon,” she said.
The green patch which used to be a paddy field on the temple premises has been shrinking year after year because of unauthorised reclamation. Highlighting the historical importance of the land and the temple, historian Vellanad Ramachandran said, “The shrine at Attukal Bhagavathy temple was historically associated with the paddy-growing tracts along the river Karamana- Killiayar river basins. The temple was closely linked to agrarian communities and landholding families.”
Temple trust president V Sobha said that they didn’t request the corporation to cart away the waste after cleaning. “The waste is unsegregated and we will take efforts to segregate it or seek help from the corporation to remove it from the premises,” said Sobha.