Thiruvananthapuram should take inspiration from Brahmapuram

It is heartening to hear that the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant, which was the curse of Kochi city, is becoming a model for the entire state. A fire that broke out there last year had left the city's residents suffocated for two weeks in a row. In those days many were even forced to move from there. The environmental problems that could arise if the garbage dumps that had accumulated for years caught fire will not be small at all. Brahmapuram thus became a curse for the people in such a way that it surpassed the Vilappilshala in Thiruvananthapuram. What is commendable is that the fire in 2023 has led to the recovery of Brahmapuram. The government and the Kochi Corporation are now reclaiming Brahmapuram as part of the city. Spread over 110 acres, Brahmapuram has no unbearable stench of garbage now. When the fire broke out, 10.5 lakh cubic metres of waste was lying there. Almost half of this waste has been processed already.

There are systems in place to segregate and treat waste. A complete restriction has been imposed on plastic waste. With the completion of the compressed biogas plant in March, gas and organic manure can also be produced. There will be good income from this. With the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant becoming fully operational with the help of state-of-the-art technology, the municipal corporation and the government will be relieved in a big way.

The waste management at Vilappilsala had to be shut down due to mismanagement. The vast Vilappilsala had no elaborate arrangements for waste management, except for the dumping of urban waste. The locals staged an agitation when the neighbours were fed up with the dirt and insects seeping out of the garbage. Eventually, the issue reached the Supreme Court.

All the cities in the state can be rescued from the menace of garbage if modern processing plants are set up and systems are put in place to run them flawlessly so that the locals are not harmed. The reason that the plant could not be set up due to the opposition of the people is merely an excuse to run away from responsibility. This is not a big problem if there is a sense of responsibility and enthusiasm.

In India, the waste treatment plants in Indore in Madhya Pradesh are now a model for the entire country. The waste treatment centres are not functioning in deserted areas here. The plants are so modern that they do not cause any inconvenience to the city dwellers. By providing free cooking gas to the households near the plant, the government was able to get the support of the people completely. The household has to pay the user fee according to the distance from the plant.

Centralised processing plants may not be possible in all the cities of Kerala. It can be done wherever it is possible. It can be implemented in a decentralized manner in other places. These are things that have been said for years. This is a task that can be implemented without much difficulty if the municipal corporations and the government come together without further neglect. In July, a man had died after falling into a garbage canal in Thiruvananthapuram, shocking the entire Kerala. Following this, the municipal corporations had announced new schemes for waste collection. When the commotion subsided, everything was back to how it was earlier. The city's canals and open spaces are once again overflowing with garbage. If scientific waste management plants are set up and an effective system for waste storage is also put in place, there will be permanent relief from this hazard. What the municipal corporations need to do now is to look at ways to do that without wasting time. The changes in Brahmapuram can be made a model by all the municipal corporations.