The Kozhikode Corporation has decided to temporarily stop the work on the proposed sewage treatment plant at Aviyil Thodu near Vellayil in Kozhikode city following protests by local residents. Discussions will be held within a week.
Mayor Beena Philip told the media here on Saturday that the project would be implemented only after taking the local people into confidence. This was after the corporation authorities held parleys with functionaries of a local-level people’s committee, who are in the forefront of the protest. Thottathil Raveendran and M.K. Muneer, MLAs, were also present. There had been massive protests against the project in the past few days, which was followed by a police lathi-charge on Monday. Residents of Moonnalinkal, Thoppayil and Vellayil wards of the corporation observed a hartal on Tuesday.
Ms. Philip said that discussions would be held with the local people in the coming days. She claimed that the people were not against the project, but the after-effects of the installation of the plant there. She pointed out that centralised sewage treatment plants were no longer possible and only small plants could be set up in each areas.
The project envisaged collecting sewage from the three wards, and discharging the treated water into a nearby canal. The corporation was planning to set up more such plants in other parts of the city. It had been included in the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, she said.
