TIRUNELVELI: Demanding legal action against those responsible for burning biomedical and other waste inside the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TVMCH) premises, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) functionaries led by their Tirunelveli constituency joint secretary M Mari Sankar filed a complaint with the City Commissioner of Police here on Thursday.
According to the petition, hospital staff allegedly set fire to medical waste, including blood sample containers, saline bottles, cannulas, used gloves and expired tablets, instead of disposing of them through proper channels. The petitioners claimed that the burning of such waste posed serious health hazards to residents of nearby areas such as MGR Nagar, Periyar Nagar, and Indira Nagar.
"Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) mandates all hospitals to adhere to the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016. Medical waste from the district's hospitals is supposed to be disposed of at the biomedical waste treatment facility in Parappadi near Nanguneri. However, a large quantity of waste was illegally dumped and set on fire within the TvMCH premises, leading to environmental pollution, soil contamination, and the risk of disease outbreaks," they claimed.
The petition urged the police to take criminal action against those involved under relevant sections of the Environmental Protection Act and BNS. It also demanded penalties against the hospital administration for violating waste management regulations. Meanwhile, District Collector Dr R Sukumar inspected the spot where the biomedical, plastic, food and other waste were burnt in TvMCH and gave instructions to the hospital management.