TENKASI: A truck driver was arrested and the vehicle was seized by the Alangulam police for allegedly transporting harmful biomedical and poultry waste from Kerala to Tamil Nadu via Puliyarai check post on Saturday. The proprietor of the truck and the owner of the land, where the wastes were illegally burnt, were also booked. The case was registered based on a complaint filed by Gangadharan, Block Health Officer, Nettur.
"The driver, M Parthiparaj (39) of Srivilliputhur, carried the waste in the truck owned by S Sathyavathi. He illegally collected harmful biomedical waste from a Thiruvananthapuram-based hospital and loaded the poultry waste on the truck for money. The police at Puliyarai check post failed to notice the violation, and the truck entered Tamil Nadu and reached Kuruvankottai near Alangulam. He dumped the waste in S Nallavan's (50) land, which is used to burn such wastes from Kerala so as to separate metal for sale," said a police official. The police have registered a case against Parthiparaj, Sathyavathi and Nallavan, and are on the lookout for Nallavan.
Meanwhile, the heaps of wastes on the land resulted in a dilemma for the police, local body and health department as to who should dispose of the wastes. Apart from the waste transported by Parthiparaj, the land is filled with a large amount of plastic and electronic wastes. "The wastes are on private land. So, we are not responsible to return them to Kerala or dispose of them," said Parthasarathy, Block Development Officer (Village), Alangulam. A health official said the waste would be buried in Nallavan's land itself after getting permission from the Court. Kuruvankottai residents are demanding its removal, saying bringing waste from Kerala into Tamil Nadu has become a regular event. "The State government should hold talks with the Kerala government regarding the matter," said an activist.