TIRUNELVELI: Two agents, who were allegedly involved in facilitating the dumping of biomedical and other waste from Kerala in Tirunelveli’s Kodaganallur, Palavoor and Kondanagaram villages, were arrested by the Suthamalli police on Thursday.
The accused were identified as Manohar (51) and Mayandi (42), residents of Suthamalli in Tirunelveli district. Superintendent of Police N Silambarasan confirmed the arrests. “We are tracing the other accused and are planning to bust the entire chain of operations,” he said.
Meanwhile, officials and functionaries of various political parties continued to visit the dumping sites in the three villages for the third consecutive day.
Leader of Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami strongly condemned the dumping of Kerala waste in Tamil Nadu. He said Chief Minister M K Stalin is only interested in shaking hands with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and holding photo shoots. “He is a chief minister who is not even brave enough to oppose the dumping of waste from a neighbouring state in Tamil Nadu,” Palaniswami posted on X.
NTK leader Seeman also condemned the Kerala government for dumping waste in Tamil Nadu. In a post on X, he stated that this practice continues despite strong opposition from the Madras High Court and the National Green Tribunal. “Kerala is vigilant in protecting its natural resources but dumps its waste in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu farmers send vegetables and other essentials to Kerala. Is it fair for Kerala to send its waste to Tamil Nadu?” he asked.
EPS: Remove waste immediately, TN not a dustbin
Chennai: AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday strongly condemned the dumping of medical waste from Kerala in the border districts of Tamil Nadu. In his post on X handle, Palaniswami said these waste have been dumped in Kallur, Pazhavur and some other places in Tirunelveli district. “Tamil Nadu is not a dustbin. Since these medical waste will spread communicable diseases, all these should be removed immediately and firm steps should be taken to prevent dumping of medical waste in our state,” Palaniswami said.
Minister: TN turned dumpyard during AIADMK rule
Chennai: Minister for Finance and Environment and Climate Change Thangam Thennarasu alleged TN had become a dumpyard for Kerala during the AIADMK regime. He was responding Palaniswami’s criticism. The minister said the dumping of waste from Kerala has been greatly avoided through stringent surveillance along the border after the present DMK government came to power in 2021. He added action is being taken on a few unexpected incidents and those committing the crime are being punished as per law. He also blamed Palaniswami for desperately trying to do politics out of any issue.