Frequent fire breakouts at the Brahmapuram waste treatment facility of the Kochi Corporation have seen the local residents raising their voice against the civic body’s “neglect” of people living around the area.
The fire that broke out in a large heap of plastic dumped on the campus in the early hours of Wednesday was brought under control after six fire fighting units fought it the entire length of the day.
The incident was the fourth in around 40 days, according to a senior official of the Fire and Rescue Services Department.
President of Vadavukode-Puthenkurisu panchayat P.K. Velayudhan said: “We have made our stand clear. The corporation cannot operate the waste treatment facility as it is now. It is a threat to the health and well-being of the people of the panchayat.” Until a permanent system is put in place, all efforts must be made to ensure that the people are safe, he added.
According to Beena Kuriakose, member, Brahmapuram panchayat council, it was obvious to all what was happening at the waste treatment facility during the visit of the NGT panel to the site recently.
“People have been protesting continuously, but their protests have fallen on deaf ears,” she said.
Deputy Mayor T.J. Vinod said the corporation had taken the developments seriously and had made provisions in the plan for the new financial year to have a facility to fight fire. The instalments will include an overhead tank as well as ancillary facilities to fight any situation.
A senior official of the Fire and Rescue Services Department said fire hydrants had to be established to meet the situation as fire breakouts had become very frequent now.
It is not known who or what causes such incidents. Under such circumstances, it is better to have a monitoring system to find out whether the incidents are man-made, he added.
The fire at the site is a serious health threat to both local residents and those engaged in fire fighting operations, the official said.