The Opposition LDF has demanded an emergency council meeting to discuss the issue of the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant where plastic waste caught fire on Tuesday evening.
Opposition leader K.J. Antony and LDF Parliamentary Party leader V.P. Chandran has written to the Mayor in this regard. The fire at Brahmapuram was quite serious, and a bigger damage was averted by sheer luck, the Opposition observed.
It said that plastic waste remains carelessly dumped on the plant premises. The Opposition had repeatedly warned against the possibility of fire in such circumstances. The opposition councillors who had visited the plant had called for emergency corrective measures, but in vain.
In a release issued here, Mr. Chandran said no scientific treatment facilities in compliance with the Central Plastic Waste Management Rules had been set up at the plant where more than 150 tonnes of plastic waste are dumped daily. Nothing is being done to segregate or recycle plastic waste.
Two fire tenders continue to be deployed on standby at the plant as a precaution against any revival of fire. “The wind had fanned the embers on Tuesday night reviving it in patches. However, the fire tenders stationed at the plant doused it by around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, said a fire force official.
Fire fighting unit
Mayor Soumini Jain said a fire fighting unit would be installed at the plant as soon as Plan funds were available. She added that the plant had not been affected in any way, and that waste collection would be restored the day after hartal.