KOCHI: Putting an end to the deadlock over the temporary ban on the transportation of waste to the Brahmapuram plant, District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla on Friday assured the collection and transportation of bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste to the plant will resume from Saturday.
The District Collector’s assurance came at a meeting with the Corporation and other stakeholders at the Civil Station on Friday. “The full-fledged waste collection from the city will resume from Saturday onwards. However, the waste accumulated in the city will be cleared within one or two days. It is not possible to leave the city in a stinking state,” the Collector told Express after the meeting.
The Collector’s assurance came amid threats by the Vadavukodu-Puthencruz panchayat that it would block the waste transportation to the plant. “We all are working to resolve the crisis. At present, some measures that were demanded by the panchayat have been taken. I will conduct a weekly review to monitor its implementation,” Safirulla said.
The Collector also assured only compact vehicles will be allowed to transport waste to the plant and those which are not covered will be seized if they are engaged in transporting waste. “Stringent measures will be taken against the persons if they are involved in creating any kind of untoward situation at the plant,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Soumini Jain who also attended the meeting informed that steps have been taken to implement the ‘immediate measures’ in the plant. “In order to ensure the safety of the plant, 10 CCTV cameras will be installed and in which two will be HD cameras. We will also procure three water pumps and tanks inside the plastic dumping yard at the plant to curb any type of fire outbreak. The installation of street lights is progressing at the plant,” said the Mayor.
She also said the construction of roads is also progressing and it will be completed in a few days. “The Corporation has already taken action against the plastic bags below 50 microns. We have also planned other programmes to reduce the plastic waste generation,” Soumini said. District Disaster Management Deputy Collector Sheela Devi, Vadavukodu-Puthencruz panchayat president P K Velayudhan, panchayat members, Corporation councillors and other stakeholders participated in the meeting.
All-party meet
Earlier, the all-party meeting convened by Mayor Soumini Jain at her chamber received support from all the political parties. The immediate measures that need to be carried out at the plant were mainly discussed in the meeting.