VENJARAMOODU: With garbage accumulating after the closure of the Vilappilsala garbage treatment plant, garbage movement from the city to the rural areas has increased, disrupting life there.
Two weeks have passed since the closure of the plant. But the alternatives set up by the authorities have failed to create any impact. This has forced a section of traders and meat merchants to dispose of their waste in desolate places in the rural areas and in the outskirts of the city.
Rural police stations have registered a couple of cases against those who had dumped garbage. Vattappara police had on Sunday arrested two people from the city who were disposing of poultry waste on the roadside at Vettupara, near Cheeranikara. The waste was brought from a poultry farm operating at Karamana. During the last month also, the Vattappara police had arrested another person while dumping waste in the area. Vattappara station SI Anil Kumar said that, ”the waste-filled vehicles are coming to rural areas even during the daytime. The local population is now aware of the threat. Police also have intensified patrolling.”
People of Vettupara, near Vembayam, have been staying awake for the last two weeks to catch the culprits who escape after leaving garbage sacks in the area. And, finally, their hard work paid off and they caught the two persons who had arrived in an autorickshaw laden with poultry waste red-handed. The two were later handed over to the Vattappara police.Prior to the incident, another person was caught from near Pottambara for engaging in the same act.
”They select deserted areas for depositing waste. Poultry waste constitutes a lion’s share. This has increased the number of stray dogs in the area. Our children fear to go out even during the daytime. So, youths stay awake to catch the waste carriers,” Vettupara ward member Usha Kumari said.
The conditions are also not different in the city outskirts. Kovalam police on Monday had nabbed two people for leaving hotel waste near the Bypass. On quizzing, they said that the waste was brought from a hotel near the Medical College. Low-lying areas in the city, including Kumarichantha, near Muttathara, and Vellayani Junction, are also reeling under the menace of garbage dumping.