When the mobile incinerator was taken to the Fort area, it was expected to offer a solution to the waste management crisis faced by the area. But with the incinerator, now stationed inside the Sree Chithira Thirunal Park in East Fort, remaining non-functional, the park has turned a dumping ground.
Thick fumes of smoke emanating from the garbage burnt inside the park greet visitors to the Pattom Thanupillai Memorial Children’s Library, also situated inside the park. Moreover, with the incinerator occupying a fair amount of space, the park ceased to be a playground for local children.
Librarian L. Lekha told The Hindu that though repeated letters of complaints about the burning of waste were sent to the Corporation, no action had yet been taken. “Children and parents complain about the difficulty in sitting in the main reading hall. We often shift to the halls at the back to avoid the smoke and stench emanating from the waste,” said Ms. Lekha. H. Rajeesh, a student of the Sanskrit High School near the park, who was a regular visitor to the park in the evenings, said he no longer visited the park as waste had been dumped in the play area. “After the vehicle [incinerator] came, we lost half the playground. In addition, when the vehicle stopped functioning, people started dumping waste near it, which is burnt every day. This area where we used to sit is always filled with waste and smoke,” said Rajeesh pointing to the benches inside the park.
As long as the incinerator remains there, the park, it seems, will be out of bounds for children.
