The Hindu : Garbage crisis eludes solution

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Garbage crisis eludes solution

By T. Nandakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM SEPT. 15. With a deadlock threatening the negotiated settlement to the garbage crisis in the city, the City Corporation is struggling to find a solution to the vexatious issue, which has assumed a menacing dimension following the suspected outbreak of Weil's disease in the city.

Garbage removal is progressing on a limited scale but the civic body is running out of locations to dump the accumulated waste. On Saturday, garbage trucks were forced to beat a hasty retreat after local people resisted the dumping of wastes on a plot bordering the Vellayani freshwater lake on the outskirts of the city. The locals were incensed over the alleged attempt to reclaim a portion of the lake and the pollution threat to the water supply schemes fed by the lake.

The residents blocked the trucks forcing Corporation officials and elected representatives to intervene. With the situation threatening to turn nasty, the civic officials finally assured the people that the dumped garbage would be covered with soil. The residents are demanding that the garbage be removed from the site. They fear that the rotting waste would contaminate the lake and pose a health hazard for the residents in the nearby areas.

The Vellayani lake has been identified as a major freshwater source for the Rs.7-crore Kovalam drinking water scheme.

The issue has come up at a time when the Government has launched measures to protect the lake from reclamation and pollution.

The incident highlights the Corporation's difficulty in identifying sites to dump the garbage. At many places in the city, residents and traders have set fire to huge mounds of accumulated wastes.

The noxious fumes from the plastic wastes pose a serious health hazard to the residents.

The settlement to end the crisis floundered after the private company operating the garbage treatment plant at Vilappilsala refused to yield on the price fixed for the bio fertilizer manufactured at the unit. The Poabs Group had earlier shut down the plant demanding Government support for marketing the biomanure.

At a Government-sponsored meeting early this month, the company had agreed to negotiate with the Agro Industries Corporation to fix the price of the fertilizer. But the subsequent talks broke down after the Poabs Group refused to relent, citing operational loss. The resulting stalemate has led to an indefinite postponement of the offtake of fertilizer from the plant.

Corporation sources said the project was not likely to resume operations soon. Health committee members said it was becoming increasingly difficult to find places to dump the garbage.

A few days back, Corporation lorries were forced to retreat after residents in the Muttada area resisted an attempt to dump garbage in a pond. Another site at Poonthura had to be dropped due to the threat of direct action.

The death of a youth at the Medical College Hospital due to suspected leptospirosis has put additional pressure on the Corporation to handle the garbage crisis.

With waste heaps accumulating at several places, residents fear that they are being exposed to the risk of contracting the disease.

The crisis following the closure of the Vilappil plant and the breakdown of the garbage collection mechanism threatens the very future of the Rs.9-crore BoT venture between the Corporation and the Poabs Group.

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