With the garbage issue threatening to escalate into a major crisis, the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation, on Monday, began efforts to force the government to find a negotiated settlement.
Mayor K. Chandrika and senior Corporation functionaries, including Opposition leaders, met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Minister for Urban Affairs P.K. Kunhalikutty late on Monday seeking government intervention to overcome the blockade of garbage trucks by local people demanding a shutdown of the solid waste treatment plant at Vilappilsala in the suburbs.
Mr. Chandy has convened a meeting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday in a bid to resolve the deadlock.
Transport suspended
Following the decision, the Corporation decided to suspend transportation of garbage to Vilappil on Monday night. They had earlier sought police protection to operate the trucks.
Corporation functionaries are understood to have sought imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144 in the Vilappil panchayat to ensure smooth transport of garbage.
Meanwhile, the Vilappil Janakeeya Samithi spearheading the agitation continued to mobilise local residents for a blockade of the trucks on Monday night.
Addressing presspersons after the meeting with the Chief Minister, Ms. Chandrika said it was the government's responsibility to ensure smooth transport of garbage to the treatment plant.
“The Corporation collects garbage and operates the plant. We do not have a police force to keep protestors at bay. All we have are a few officials and empty coffers,” she said. “The Samithi insists that it will not settle for anything less than a shutdown of the plant. They refuse to respond to our efforts at finding an amicable settlement. It is left to the government to do the needful.”
Ms. Chandrika warned that the city was lurching towards a public health crisis caused by garbage accumulation. “The garbage trucks did not ply on Sunday night because of the blockade by the Samithi. Stuffed to the top, they have been parked at Attakulangara and Jagathy for more than a day. While the collected waste is rotting inside the vehicles, garbage has started accumulating on the streets. The situation is serious. The suspension of the collection mechanism for two days because of hartals has compounded the magnitude of the problem,” she said.
Corporation's efforts
Ms. Chandrika said the previous Left Democratic Front government had made it clear that the plant would not be shut down at any cost. She said the Corporation had done everything possible to minimise the impact of the project on the local people. “Work on a leachate treatment plant and an engineered sanitary landfill is progressing. The Corporation is simultaneously shifting to a decentralised system of garbage disposal by promoting micro biogas, vermicomposting and ring composting units. We have also taken steps to enforce the ban on plastics.”
She accused the Samithi of trying to sabotage the plant. “They have attacked our drivers and attempted to set fire to the plant.”
The conciliatory meeting convened by the Chief Minister is expected to be attended by Deputy Speaker N. Sakthan who represents the Kattakkada constituency, MLAs, leaders of the Samithi, representatives of the Corporation and the Vilappil panchayat, and leaders of political parties.
