Thiruvananthapuram: Illegal service providers dispose of tonnes of city waste in panchayats

Several tonnes of waste were dumped at the Thekkupara ward under Amboori grama panchayat. The panchayat had to spend nearly Rs 10,000 to clear the garbage that was posing serious environmental issues.

Image used for representational purposes only. (Express Illustration)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even months after the launch of ‘Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam’ -- a campaign launched by the Local Self Government Department (LSGD) -- to transform Kerala into a garbage-free state, the state capital continues to reel under the garbage crisis. Despite the introduction of door-to-door collection of non-biodegradable waste by Haritha Karma Sena members, the civic authorities are unable to regulate the thriving illegal operations of service providers who collect unsegregated waste from hotels and poultry shops and dump it in densely populated panchayat areas in the capital. Multiple complaints have come up against these service providers who dump waste in rural areas of the capital.

Member of Kiliyoor ward, under Vellarada grama panchayat Suneesh S, said that several tonnes of waste are being illegally dumped in his ward. “We traced the driver and vehicle. Several sacks of waste were recovered, and after examining the dump, we realised that the waste had been brought from the city areas. We have warned the party, who later removed it within two days,” said  Suneesh.

In a similar incident, several tonnes of waste were dumped at the Thekkupara ward under Amboori grama panchayat. The panchayat had to spend nearly Rs 10,000 to clear the garbage that was posing serious environmental issues, including water pollution. “There were poultry waste, diapers, hotel waste, which were dumped on private property. There were also sacks filled with garbage dumped along the banks of a waterbody, which is frequently used by residents,” said ward member Nizar M.

Meanwhile, the city corporation is gearing up to implement new strategies to put an end to the operations of illegal service providers. “None of the service providers operating in the corporation area is legal. We have decided to engage new service providers, and the transportation of waste will be done under strict scrutiny. There are around 32 service providers on the current list and a decision on this will be taken in the next council meeting to be held this week,” said a senior official of the city corporation.

The civic body is planning to make GPS tracking mandatory for vehicles transporting waste to curb the illegal handling of waste.