THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid longstanding concerns over unscientific waste disposal, indiscriminate burning of plastic and environmental pollution in the ecologically sensitive Periyar Tiger Reserve, Clean Kerala Company Ltd (CKCL) has launched a major waste clearance operation at Sabarimala, to remove around 27 tonnes of accumulated waste from Pampa and adjoining areas ahead of the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has set November 10 as the deadline to clear all accumulated waste from Pampa and Sannidhanam ahead of the pilgrimage season.
As part of pre-season cleanup at Sabarimala, the CKCL has removed around 17.68 tonnes of waste from Pampa pilgrim areas. CKCL managing director G K Suresh Kumar told TNIE that around 10 tonnes of recyclable material will be lifted from Pampa on Tuesday.
Of the 17,680kg collected from Pampa, 11,255kg was recyclable metal waste, 3,605kg recyclable plastic waste and 2,820kg rejected waste. The CKCL estimates that the total quantity lifted from the area will reach approximately 27 tonnes.
Around 100 workers have been deployed for the cleaning operation. The CKCL is planning to begin clearing work at Sannidhanam from Wednesday. Suresh said the absence of a systematic mechanism for segregating and removing recyclable waste had been a major concern at Sabarimala.
“Earlier, recyclable materials were also being put into the incinerators and burned along with other waste. There was no proper system to account for the quantity of plastic and other materials removed for recycling. Now, we are introducing a system where the waste collected and transported is properly accounted for,” he said.
An official with the TDB said that the plan is to ensure complete sanitation across Pampa and Sannidhanam and ensure the removal of waste by November 10.
“On the waste management front, our existing infrastructure — including the 5 MLD sewage treatment plant at Sannidhanam, the 3.5 MLD plant at Pampa, and incinerators with capacities of 700kg per hour at Sannidhanam and 400 kg per hour at Pampa — remains fully operational. To improve segregation, we are scaling up the three-bin system,” said the official.
The official added that it will be impossible to deploy tractors for waste movement from Sannidanam once the season kicks off.
