THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the closure of the Vilappilsala waste treatment plant in 2011, the waste crisis in Thiruvananthapuram turned public spaces into dumpsites, causing pollution and leading to protests. Since then, the city corporation has come a long way fighting all odds to set up alternative decentralised waste treatment plants. To its credit, it has managed to partially fix the problem.
Several sites that had heaps of legacy waste were cleared and transformed to set up parks and waste treatment facilities or to initiate infrastructure development activities. The corporation has successfully managed to clear three major dumpsites in the capital. The city generates around 353 tonnes of solid waste per day.
In 2020, the dump at Erumakuzhy in Attakulangara, one of the biggest, was cleared and a new park and garden -- along with a community waste treatment facility -- were set up. The recently opened APJ Abdul Kalam Park at Poundukadavu is another example of the reclamation and transformation of a dump site. The park is now one of the largest green spaces in Thiruvananthapuram with a 750-metre cycle track.
Former mayor and Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth, who played a key role in the project, said that clearing all dumpsites was part of a strategy to put in place a system for scientific waste disposal.