Waste management raises a stink in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's leaders are presently preoccupied by concerns over a possible breach of the century-old Mullaperiyar dam on its border with Tamil Nadu, but another challenge is already raising a stink: the issue of garbage disposal.

The problem is most evident in the state capital itself, where protests over a waste treatment plant at Vilappilsala on the outskirts of the city have become louder. Distressed over the environmental and health fallout of a waste treatment plant in its area, the Vilappil village council passed a resolution to shut down the plant even as protestors led by the Vilappilsala Janakeeya Samithi, a forum of local residents, got set to block garbage trucks reaching the unit.

The village council also was drawing up plans to petition the water supply agency and the electricity utility provider to cut off supplies to the garbage treatment plant.

Local residents complain that the city corporation and the state government have failed to find a solution to their problems for which the waste-treatment plant in their once-pristine village is directly responsible.

Considering the seriousness of the issue, chief minister Oommen Chandy himself got involved in discussions with the protesters, and the state cabinet has decided to shift the waste-treatment plant out of Vilappilsala and establish a new one with the latest technological features for garbage treatment.

In a related incident, a division bench of the Kerala High Court had on Monday directed the Ernakulam district collector, the city mayor and several officials to appear before the court to explain the collection and disposal of garbage in the district.

Ernakulam being the commercial capital of the state, is estimated to be grappling with the biggest challenge in waste disposal. The court directive came following a petition by the Kerala Federation of Women Lawyers highlighting the dumping of garbage along roadsides.

Court order

Indiscriminate dumping of garbage by the wayside has persisted even after a court-imposed prohibition on dumping plastic carrybags or bags made of other non-biodegradable materials. Following the court directive, police had filed cases against some people for dumping garbage by the roadside but, over the past few weeks, the supervision has been lax leading to continued waste disposal on the roadsides.

Protests have also been brewing in Laloor near Thrissur, over environmental damage owing to waste dumping. Local residents say that more than 50 wells in the area had been polluted because of the large quantities of wastes dumped in the area from Thrissur town.

Tourism authorities in Kerala are also concerned over indiscriminate waste disposal. They fear that the picture postcard-like natural beauty of the state would suffer long-term damage owing to poor waste management, and adversely affect the tourism business in the state.