Watch tower, CCTV, fire watchmen to prevent further fire accidents in dumpyard

KOCHI: In the wake of the recent fire at the Brahmapuram waste plant that resulted in poisonous fumes covering this port city, the Ernakulam district administration has decided to go in for digital equipment for better monitoring of the site to prevent such an incident from recurring.

District Collector NSK Umesh said the administration will also approach start-ups for fireproofing the plant and a detailed project report would be prepared for finding a permanent solution to prevent frequent fire accidents at the garbage plant.

The district administration will form a health expert committee to study the health issues caused by the fire, he said.

“Our goal is to make Ernakulam garbage-free before World Environment Day,” the Collector said in a statement issued by the district administration.

In the first meeting of the monitoring committee, constituted to find solutions to prevent fire accidents at Brahmapuram, it was decided to erect a watch tower at the garbage treatment plant, for improving the security at the plant and to appoint fire watchmen, and also to install CCTV cameras at the plant. A plan for this will be prepared by the Fire Service department and will be submitted to the District Collector and Kochi Corporation, it said.

CPM: Javadekar making factually incorrect statements for political gains

BJP leader Prakash Javadekar, on Wednesday, claimed that corruption involving kin of the Left and Congress functionaries in Kerala led to the absence of a waste-management plan in Kochi. He also said the Kerala government never followed the solid waste management rules.

The CPM state secretariat in a statement said, the tender awarded to segregate waste was through a transparent process and the state government does not have anything to hide.