KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation authorities have raised concerns over the possibility of waste getting accumulated at Brahmapuram after the district administration identified Brahmapuram Solid Waste Treatment plant as the segregation point of non-bio degradable waste collected from flood-affected areas. Though the waste collected from flood-hit areas are not dumped along with the waste collected from Kochi and neighbouring municipalities, the non-biodegradable waste is now transported next to the site for the new plant proposed at Brahmpuram.
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“We hope that the district administration will soon convene a meeting with the representatives of Kochi Corporation and other local bodies. The segregation of waste will take more time than we expect. We hope the District Collector will discuss the plans in detail with us,” said Kochi Corporation Health standing committee chairperson V K Minimol.
It is estimated nearly 700 tonnes of non-biodegradable waste materials have already been transported to Brahmpuram from various flood-affected areas in the district. The waste needs to be segregated into plastic, beds and mattresses, and other home furniture. The e-waste collection from flood-affected areas will begin on Wednesday, which will again increase the volume of waste transported to Brahmapuram.
“The segregation process of waste collected from Brahmapuram is going on. It will take around five to six months to complete the segregation and treat the entire waste. We are also looking into other options so that we can speed up the entire procedures,” said Ernakulam District Collector K Mohammed Y Safeerulla.
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Meanwhile, the district administration said that till Monday, nearly 700 tonnes of waste was collected from 22 panchayats in the district. The post-flood cleaning at Paravur, Kunnukara, Vadakkekkara, Karumaloor, and Alangad has entered the final phase. The workers have to overcome various hurdles while cleaning the flood-affected areas. The biggest challenge was to carry out post-flood cleaning at Paravur market, which was totally submerged. A total of 1500 sacks of rice, stocked for Onam season, was damaged in the floods. The market alone suffered a loss of Rs 10 crore. The Paravur market will reopen on Wednesday.
The cleaning work at seven other panchayats such as Cheranalloor, Karumaloor, Kadungalloor, Alangad, Chittatukara, Vadakkekkara, and Chendamangalam are also progressing. A majority of the places in these panchayats were submerged. The cleaning at Vadakkekkara panchayat is also into the final stages. The cleaning activities were carried out here with the help of Cochin Port workers. A total of 6,794 volunteers and locals also took part in the cleaning drive. The bio-degradable waste is buried at the source itself.