KOZHIKODE: Just after the smoke from the Kochi Brahmapuram waste management plantation had cleared, the Kozhikode Waste Management plant caught fire.
On October 8th, a fire erupted at the waste management plant in Kozhikode Municipal Corporation in West Hill.
Following this incident, Kozhikode Corporation’s opposition leader, K C Shobita, accused the corporation authorities of deliberately setting fire to the waste dumped in the treatment plant due to interruptions in recycling.
Shobita stated, “Such fire accidents are very common in Kozhikode Corporation. Whenever the quantity of waste dumped in treatment plants or yards increases, and the treatment plant is not equipped to recycle, fires erupt.”
A team of forensic experts will inspect the plant today (October 9) to confirm the cause of the fire.
Following the outbreak of the fire, ten fire control units, including a water bowser, were deployed to control the fire. Meanwhile, Kozhikode Corporation’s Health Standing Committee Chairperson, Dr. S Jayasree, told the media that the operation of the waste treatment plant was interrupted due to a technical issue in the machine used for recycling waste.
“At present, the waste treatment plant is functioning as a material recovery facility. The waste collected by Haritha Karma Sena and other corporation staff is taken to this center and segregated for sale. A portion of the collected waste rejected by scrap dealers is kept here. Every day, Haritha Karma Sena members have been collecting 100 tonnes of non-degradable waste from houses. Along with this, waste collected from public places is also taken to this plant. It is assumed that a short circuit led to the fire accident,” said Jayasree.
Non-degradable waste items like plastic, collected by corporation staff from public places, are stored in this plant. Konari Waste Management Service, a private firm, is in charge of operating the plant.
Meanwhile, the use of plastic and improper disposal are significantly affecting the corporation. During the rainy season, plastic materials are blocking drainage pathways, leading to several contamination diseases.
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