Following allegations against a cooperative hospital in Vadakara over its unscientific waste water disposal, the Municipal authorities, on Saturday, conducted a field inspection at the hospital premises with the support of senior health officers.
P.P. Ranjini, chairperson of the Vadakara municipality, said the health officials could not find any lapse on the part of the hospital authorities and they were not letting out the untreated waste water to any of the nearby water sources.
In the inquiry, the health officers also found that the hospital’s waste water treatment plant was functioning properly and it had no leakage, she added.
As per the report submitted by the health authorities to the municipality, there were also no elements of bio medical waste in a nearby rivulet- which according to environmentalists- was facing contamination.
In the report, it was found that a few merchants in Vadakara were responsible for the entire issue as they were reportedly dumping waste water containing food and other solid waste from their outlets to the rivulet.
The chairperson affirmed that action would be taken against the responsible traders. “Earlier, strict direction had been issued on the issue, but mostly it was ignored,” she said.
Meanwhile, some of the action council members reiterated their view that the hospital was involved in letting out waste water to the rivulet at Karimbanapalam.
“Anyone can see it directly as the waste water from the hospital compound comes to the rivulet and contaminates it. Some portion of the rivulet had been even filled by the residents with soil to prevent further contamination,” they claimed.
However, health officers clarified that the water let out into the rivulet from the hospital compound was not carrying any bio-medical waste or solid trash. The water let out into the rivulet had been used for some hospital building maintenance works.
They felt that the local residents were misinterpreting the issue.