One of the major points of focus of the city Corporation’s intensive clean-up campaign Ente Nagaram, Sundara Nagaram to be launched on November 1 will be the sealing of all dumps. The major headache will come in the form of the Erumakkuzhi dump, situated next to the Chala-Attakulangara bypass, which has been the main dump ever since the closure of the Vilappilsala plant.
T.M. Thomas Isaac, MLA, who is anchoring the clean-up campaign, told The Hindu that two sites had been identified in the vicinity to set up at least 50 ‘Thumboormozhi’ model aerobic bins each.
“The waste dump at Erumakkuzhi is filled with tonnes of plastic and bio-waste, all of it mixed together. Separating it is next to impossible and we are thinking of using contractors to get it removed. Getting permission from the government for scientific capping of the area will take a few months. Anyway, we are closing the option of dumping here. One of the sites identified for setting up aerobic bins is the Corporation land near the Chala market, which itself was a dump sometime ago. The other one is the area now being used as a parking lot for Corporation vehicles,” said Dr. Isaac.
The Erumakkuzhi land, owned by the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA), had also been a dump for waste from the Chala market. The leachate from this area had affected the groundwater in this area and flows to the waste pond near Karimadom colony. Another major dump is the one adjacent to Jagathy Junction. “The first step is to make sure that people dispose the waste at source. A survey is being conducted across all households in the city to check whether pipe compost units are installed and whether they are being used. One Kudumbasree worker will be given the charge of 100 houses to make sure that the units are being used and are working properly. This will reduce the amount of waste that will reach the aerobic bins,” said Dr. Isaac. He said that all CPI(M) members and sympathisers would be asked to set up pipe-composting or biogas units at their houses.
