The State government should facilitate the reopening of the solid waste treatment plant at Vilappilsala, an all-party meeting chaired by Mayor K. Chandrika here on Friday has demanded.
The meeting was attended by representatives of all political parties that have representation in the Corporation council.
If the current garbage situation persists, the capital city may plunge into a public health crisis once the monsoon sets in. Also, Vilappilsala itself may face a health crisis if the garbage now dumped in the plant is not treated, it was said at the meeting.
The representatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party said the district and State unit of the party did not share the views of the party's Vilappil unit on the issue of the reopening of the garbage plant.
Later, in a meeting with Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali, Ms. Chandrika demanded that the Chief Minister and other ministers pay a visit to the treatment plant and that they be not taken in by false propaganda.
“I pointed out to the Minister that we have 50-odd staff living inside the plant. There is also a functioning canteen there. If things are as bad as they are made out to be how are our people living there? I did not want the Chief Minister and the Ministers to have a wrong picture of the situation at the plant. What better way then than to go there and have a look?” she told The Hindu .
Ms. Chandrika said she also pointed out to Mr. Ali that groundwater pollution was not endemic to Vilappilsala. Even in the capital city there are places where the water in open wells was not fit for human consumption.
“I also wanted the Minister to understand that Thiruvananthapuram is a city of floating people. There cannot be any at-source treatment of the garbage they generate,” she added.
