KOCHI: The state committee of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) on Thursday decided to meet Local Self Government Minister M B Rajesh to seek a permanent solution to the food waste disposal issue. The private agency entrusted by the corporation with the task of collecting waste failed to carry out the duty regularly, which led to the accumulation of waste in hotels.
Meanwhile, the police have been imposing hefty fines for keeping food waste outside the outlets. “The rising rates of vegetables, chicken and fish are cutting into our profit margin. Restaurants are unable to increase food rates due to stiff competition. While we are struggling to stay afloat, the police are slapping fines between Rs 50,000 to 1 lakh for keeping food waste outside the restaurants.
The private agency engaged by the corporation is not collecting the food waste regularly. The government should intervene to find a permanent solution,” said association general secretary G Jayapal. He said the private agency is collecting food waste only once in two or three days and the corporation and government are not intervening to streamline the system.
“We had raised our grievances with minister M B Rajesh recently. He had assured to convene a meeting of Suchitwa Mission, Pollution Control Board (PCB) and KHRA to discuss the issue. But there has been no progress. We have been cooperating with the government in the steps to streamline the system,” added Jayapal.
Responding to the grievances of hotel owners, Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar said the issues raised by KHRA are genuine, and he will try his best to address the problem.
“The KHRA has been very proactive in implementing the new system for waste disposal. I am planning to take up the matter with the minister. We will also hold discussions with the agencies engaged by Suchitwa Mission. The permanent solution is the installation of a waste treatment plant, but it will take some time. Till then, we will have to cooperate with the temporary mechanism”, he said.
According to him, there will be impediments due to the transition to a new system.
“There are two reasons behind the irregular waste collection. The first is that the agencies do not have the capacity to handle the entire waste generated in the city. The second factor is the intervention of some people to jeopardise the system. Some are tracking the vehicles transporting the waste and threatening the agencies. The minister has received a few complaints in this regard. The situation will return to normalcy soon,” said Anilkumar.