THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Removing and disposing of tonnes of disaster debris especially the construction and demolition waste, scrap metal and hazardous materials in the landslide-hit areas of Wayanad is proving to be a herculean task for the state. In a first-of-its-kind initiative for the state, the LSG department plans to establish a temporary C&D processing plant in the district to recycle the tonnes of rubble.
As per official records, a staggering 352 houses were completely destroyed, and an additional 129 residences were partially damaged in the affected areas. The debris includes hazardous e-waste, scrap metal, and even cars. Clearing these landslide-hit sites is crucial to restoring normalcy to the region.
LSGD Minister M B Rajesh told TNIE that a modern C&D plant will be established on a temporary basis to dispose of tonnes of construction debris in the landslide sites. “We have removed and disposed of around 70 tonnes of biodegradable, non-biodegradable and other waste in the past week. Every day a minimum of 10 tonnes of waste are generated from rescue operations and at the relief camps.We were able to establish a system to handle this waste along with the rescue operations,” said Rajesh.
He said two mobile faecal sludge treatment units have been deployed at the relief camps to ensure scientific handling of sewage generated every day.
According to officials, disaster waste management is uncharted territory for the state. To assess the quantum of construction and demolition waste, Suchitwa Mission has launched GIS mapping of the region. “The landslides have caused massive destruction and only 20 percent of the houses are remaining and the rest of them are either totally washed away or partially destroyed. Besides the houses, there are other structures also and there will be many constructions that are not in the official records,” said the official. It is learned that recycled construction material can be used for other construction activities. “We can definitely use the recycled construction debris for rebuilding purposes. This is the first time we are dealing with such a volume of construction debris.
Previously, there was no need for a recycling plant as the debris is normally used for preparatory work for road construction or for landfilling purposes. We have enough land for setting up the C&D plant and we have already a few locations for the purpose. In India, Indore and Bhopal have C&D plants and we will also be setting up similar technology in Wayanad,” said a senior official of the Suchitwa Mission.
A minimum of 150 volunteers are on the ground helping with the waste management at Wayanad. According to officials of Clean Kerala Company Ltd (CKCL), the assessment of the quantity of cloth, scrap, bed, furniture, etc. is ongoing. “We will start removing all that waste in the coming days,” said an official of CKCL.
Cars and vehicles destroyed in the landslide are another major challenge. “We will be removing the vehicles to the district collectorate. We will try to identify the owners of the vehicles having numbers so that they can go ahead with the insurance claim. The rest of the vehicles will be disposed of scientifically,” said a source.
