With waste management in limbo in many parts of Kozhikode city, residents are seeking alternatives to dispose of refuse accumulated over the past two weeks.
Door-to-door waste collection in the city is mostly handled by a team of Kudumbashree workers. However, the recently formed Haritha Karma Sena had taken over the task in some areas. Just before the lockdown, Sena members were learning the ropes, while some had already started working. But after the lockdown was announced, neither the Kudumbashree nor the Sena collected waste properly from homes.
The Kozhikode Corporation had announced earlier that there would be no trouble in continuing waste collection. “The Haritha Karma Sena has stopped operations temporarily while many of the Kudumbashree workers are not turning up for work out of fear,” said K.V. Baburaj, Health Standing Committee chairman of the corporation.
However, Kudumbashree Project Officer T.K. Prakashan said workers were in field despite the risk. “Defunct waste collection vehicles are hindering the process in some parts of the city. It is smooth in other places,” he claimed.
Many of the residents at places where waste collection has stopped are now a worried lot. “We have a little bit of backyard. So we compost it and plastic is neatly stacked. But we do have neighbours who do not know what to do with their waste,” said Usha K, a home-maker from Pottammal in the city.
Even though the door-to-door collection is not happening, the corporation has made arrangements to transport waste to recycling plants. “Residents can drop off their refuse at the designated collection points in each health circles. We will take over from there,” Mr. Baburaj said.