The collection of waste from containment zones has turned into a dilemma for civic administrators, workers on the job and residents.
In the Aluva municipality area, sanitation workers have not been collecting waste for the past few days, said Timmy Teacher, health standing committee chairperson of the municipality. “Two workers come from nearby panchayats but the others stay within the municipality area. While a steering committee meeting will be held in two days to take a decision on the matter, the sanitation workers’ fear is understandable,” she said. Residents have been asked to keep their waste in buckets for now. “Households in the area have been repeatedly asked in the past to find their own solutions to biodegradable waste, but have resorted to the easy way of just handing the waste over to somebody who collects it. This situation might be a lesson,” she added.
Saradha Mani, who collects waste from the Edappally area, says that households where people are living in quarantine have been asked to sprinkle bleaching powder over their biodegradable waste and keep it for a day before they collect it. Non-biodegradable waste from such houses is collected only after the quarantine period is over, she says.
“We have not been tested for the virus yet and were given two pairs of gloves and masks two months ago. The fear of the disease is real, but the work cannot stop,” she says.
In the Kochi corporation area, waste collection had faced a few hiccups when the police would not allow collection vehicles inside the containment zones, but collection had resumed soon, said P.D. Martin, councillor representing Girinagar.
The Thripunithura Municipality is firm about not allowing sanitation workers inside containment zones. “Considering their safety, we cannot allow people from outside to enter the containment zones. Residents without composting facilities have been asked to grind their food waste and flush it down the toilet,” said Chandrika Devi, Thripunithura Municipality chairperson.
