Damp beds, books, car seats, clothes, and damaged electronic goods and furniture. Thrissur is fighting to manage mounts of waste left behind by the devastating floods. Existing waste management systems are not sufficient to tackle the unexpected situation.
People are dumping waste on roads and streets while cleaning houses. Most houses have three to four truckloads of waste. The district authority and local self-government institutions are struggling to manage the situation. This is in addition to the organic and inorganic waste from relief camps. The authorities are also apprehensive about epidemic outbreaks.
Collection centres
The district administration has set up collection centres for plastic waste and relief camps have been requested to send inorganic waste to the centres.
As the waste disposal system has been damaged and the amount of waste generated by the floods is enormous, the local bodies are searching for strategies for fast disposal of waste.
“We are planning to collect the waste in each division,” said Mayor Ajitha Jayarajan.
“Damp beds, clothes, books, and plastic items will be dried and segregated at the respective division. A centralised system is not possible. We are planning to burn non-plastic waste once it is dry. Plastic waste will be shifted to our treatment plant,” she said.
“As spread of epidemics, such as leptospirosis, has been reported from nearby districts, and Thrissur is susceptible to rat fever due to the presence of waterbodies such as Kole fields, we have to manage waste as early as possible,” the Mayor said.
She urged the people on the banks of the Kole fields not to dump waste and household items into canals and the fields.
Health advisory
Health experts have urged the people to discard mouldy and soaked carpets and upholstery.
“Control of mould in the aftermath of floods should continue for months after the cleaning operations. We have to be careful about water-borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, leptospirosis, hepatitis-A, and vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and dengue haemorrhagic fever. Floods could lead to an increase in vector-borne diseases through the expansion in the number and range of vector habitats. Carcass of animals and birds should be buried with utmost care,” they said. The situation is of concern at Chalakudy, Annamanada, Mala, and Chazhur, areas worst hit by the floods. Most of the canals are clogged with waste carried by the floodwaters.
