Was it an ‘act of god’ that set the garbage heaps at the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant of the Kochi Corporation on fire a few days ago?
Evidence, or rather lack of evidence, suggests so.
A review of the CCTV footage from the scene of fire yielded no clues into its reasons.
The CCTV visuals were reviewed by senior officials of the civic body the other day. However, no evidence pointing to the involvement of anyone or miscreants setting the waste on fire or any unusual activities were found in the visuals, said Prathibha Ansari, chairperson of the health standing committee of the corporation.
The civic authorities, who suspected that someone might have set the garbage heaps ablaze, had filed police complaints.
They had also requested the district administration to look into the recurrent incidents of fire.
Hunting for answer
Some civic administrators had suspected that the methane gas from the huge quantities of waste might have caught fire as the atmospheric temperature steadily increased.
There have been six fire breakouts since January, which have put the civic administrators in a fix.
Representatives of the Vadavucode-Puthencruz panchayat, where the plant is located, had protested against the incidents and had threatened to block the transportation of plastic refuse to the plant site.
The administration has decided to strengthen security measures at the plant, which include the installation of more CCTV cameras. Three have already been installed. Seven more will be fixed shortly.
Power connection
Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will be approached for speeding up power connection procedures.
The services of security personnel will also be strengthened at the site, said Ms. Ansari.
Road re-laying
The civic body has also decided to complete the re-laying of the internal road that runs through the plant. Though pathways have been created between waste heaps for earth movers and fire engines to move, the roads may become non-motorable during the rainy season, she said.
The Kochi Corporation council had on Monday approved a ₹1.16-crore road project for the Brahmapuram plant.
