One of the private agencies hired by the city Corporation has been accused of dumping large amounts of waste collected from homes near the aerobic bins at Maruthoorkadavu in Kalady ward.
The agency or the authorities have failed to clear the accumulated waste even after several months, despite complaints from residents. The waste dump has become such an acute problem for the residents that they have formed the Maruthoorkadavu Aerobin Action Council to raise the issue forcefully at multiple forums.
According to the residents here, the decentralised waste processing centre used to be fairly managed earlier, with regular upkeep of the aerobic bins. The control of the centre was handed over to a private agency some months back. The civic body has been using the services of various NGOs and agencies for local-level collection of waste from house and processing, with some of them doing commendable work on the ground. However, at Maruthoorkadavu, the centre soon turned into a collection point for biodegradable and non biodegradable waste, some of which were not even segregated properly.
“The agency which was given the responsibility of waste management in four wards began bringing in waste from other places too. The non-biodegradable waste which was collected here was supposed to be transported to other locations for recycling, but despite several requests they never took it away. There is so much stench and the water from it seeps into the ground, and all of it is causing a lot of trouble to the residents as well as passers-by,” says Kalady Sreekumar, Convenor of the action council.
Following complaints from the residents, the Corporation took back control of the collection centre recently, but the waste dump still remains, although the sanitation workers revived the aerobic bins, which were used by the agency to dump waste.
The agency still handles waste management in three other wards. The action council has now complained to the Mayor, the State Pollution Control Board and the Suchitwa Mission, requesting that the waste dump be cleared at the earliest.
