Kochi fights toxic fumes as fire at Brahmapuram waste plant refuses to die down
1 min read . Updated: 06 Mar 2023, 07:56 PM IST
Premium- Even though the fire appears to be extinguished, huge amounts of smoke was still rising from the waste mound
- Kerala Pollution Control Board website said the PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulates' level in the air in Kochi were above the prescribed standards.
Kerala's coastal town Kochi is battling severe toxic fumes as the fire from the Brahmapuram waste plant refuses to die down. As many as 30 fire tenders, two Navy helicopters and over 120 fire force personnel are present at the spot trying to tackle the flames, as dense air replete with particulate matter covers Kochi.
The toxic fumes has spread over to neighboring areas, according to PTI report.
Even though the fire appears to be extinguished, huge amounts of smoke was still rising from the waste mound. The Kakkanad, Aroor and Vytilla regions of the city appeared to be hazy during the day.
District authorities said each of the fire tenders was using approximately 40,000 litres of water each to put out the smoke.
They also said that water is being taken from the nearby Kadamprayar river with the help of floating earth-moving equipment and powerful machines are being used to extinguish smoke by flooding the entire area which is under fire.
The Indian Navy helicopter, Seaking, collected water from a nearby reservoir and poured it over the smoke-filled waste plant site which has been ravaged by fire.
Meanwhile, the State Human Rights Commission has directed the state Chief Secretary, Ernakulam District Collector and others to submit a report on the action taken to permanently solve the smoke issues from the fire at the plant.
Anganwadis, kindergartens, day care centres and classes 1 to 7 of government aided, unaided, CBSE and ICSE schools located in Kochi city and neighbouring gram panchayats and municipalities remained closed on Monday.
Air Pollution in Kochi
According to the data on the Kerala Pollution Control Board website, the PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulates' level in the air in Kochi were above the prescribed standards.
The level of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter that can enter deep into the lungs and even the bloodstream, was found to be 79.7 ug/m3, at around 1:45 PM today, as against the normal standard of 60.
PM 10, particles with diameter less than 10 micrometres, level were recorded at 119.6 as against a normal of 100.
The fire broke out in the waste dumped at the plant on Thursday.
Officials had maintained that such incidents happen every year around this time due to the extreme heat.
(With inputs from PTI)