Ward-level people’s committees and Health Department squads under various local bodies in Kozhikode are intensifying efforts against the illegal dumping of waste in public places and unoccupied private or government land in villages and city suburbs.
People’s committees have been told to catch the offenders red-handed to curb the practice that continues unabated despite the regular functioning of local waste collection and treatment services.
The squads functioning in Kuttiyadi and Vadakara municipality have exposed two cases in which the fly-tippers were caught on the spot. In Kuttiyadi, the man caught was a local trader who was asked to take back the waste dumped and remit the fine amount. In Vadakara, it was a group of migrant labourers, who was caught while throwing kitchen waste and other rotten food items along a rural road.
A local body member from Kuttiyadi said people’s squads on rotation basis were found more effective than the setting up of cameras to track offenders. “A strange development in the area is the entry of migrant labourers who are paid for discarding waste in isolated areas. Those who organise private parties and get-togethers are using such paid options to escape from responsibilities,” said C.V. Manoj, a local vigilance committee member from Vadakara. He said there were many unlicensed private agencies engaged in collecting septage and dumping it in isolated areas using the service of migrant workers.
An isolated spot near Mokavoor that was used for illegal dumping of waste was restored to its normal state recently, thanks to the frequent intervention of people’s squads in the area. The illegal practice had resulted in the pollution of potable water sources. Police patrol squads had also supported the local residents in the surveillance activities.
