MADURAI
A public interest litigation petition filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday alleged that biomedical waste from Kerala was getting dumped at Puliyankudi and Chokkampatti in Tirunlveli district.
The petitioner, S. Chidambaram of Tirunelveli, said that the dumping was a cause of concern among residents who feared outbreak of diseases.
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On November 21, 28 lorries from Kerala entered Tirunelveli to dump the waste at the two towns. Though the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, were formulated for the purpose of handling and managing hazardous waste, biomedical waste was being dumped without employing appropriate methods. He sought a direction to the authorities to act against those involved in the disposal of waste without following norms and stop dumping of such waste in Tirunelveli district.
In a response to the petition, the State submitted that the 28 lorries that entered Tirunelveli were fined for carrying hazardous materials and sent back to Kerala were not allowed to unload biomedical waste. Also, waste dumped in private lands in the district earlier was removed, the counter said.
A Division Bench of Justices K.K. Sasidharan and P.D. Audikesavalu directed the Collector of Tirunelveli to file a status report and adjourned the case for further hearing by a week.
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