THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The landfilling of garbage in the identified government lands would come to a halt in a couple of days with the process having reached a saturation point. According to City Corporation officials, nearly 250 tonnes of garbage was landfilled each day for ten days now, resulting in an exhaustion of land and its capacity to soak up the garbage.
The Corporation agrees that landfilling was not at any point a sensible solution. ‘’It is highly unscientific, we are aware of it. But there was no way out and it was opted as a temporary solution. The city has a problem of non-availability of land. Besides, the spots identified have already been filled up with garbage. It is up to the Government now to find a lasting solution to this,’’ said Mayor K Chandrika on Wednesday.
The waste collection came to a halt on December 21 following the expiry of the deadline set by the Janakeeya Samithi for the State and the Corporation to arrive at an alternative to the Vilappilsala waste treatment plant. The waste from households, hotels and other institutions from that day was being landfilled ever since the process began on December 27.The Corporation has been trying out an organic potion too to cast away the stench. But has now realised that landfilling cannot keep it on the safer side for too long. According to sources, the Corporation was expecting a favourable stay from the High Court in the petition filed against the Vilappil panchayat’s action of locking up the waste treatment plant, which actually belongs to the City Corporation. However, the Court sent notices to the State Government and the local body, directing them to appear for a hearing on the petition on January 9. Which means, at least till then, the Corporation would have to keep the process of landfilling running, which would be a huge task for it.
The landfilling has also become an expensive affair for the local body with six JCBs being pressed into service on an hourly rental basis. The officials say the service of a JCB for one hour costs around ` 900.
Besides, complaints have already come up against the unscientific mode of landfilling, with the Kerala State Pollution Control Board making it clear that the Corporation had not sought its clearance for the process. With the city recently getting drowned in flash floods, the issue of clogged drains and garbage has led to the fear of spread of epidemics too.