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In an unprecedented move, the Kerala High Court gives civic officials in the state's largest city an ultimatum on garbage clearance. However, a long-term solution to the city's waste problem continues to elude the municipal corporation
The start of the last working week in July was declared a holiday in Kochi, Kerala, by the city's municipal corporation while it attempted to clear the streets of uncollected garbage. On July 28, the Kerala High Court gave the civic body, which has been in the dock for letting the city go to the dogs, quite literally, a five-day deadline to clear the city of garbage.
So, Monday was a day off for Kochi's beleaguered residents as municipal workers attacked piles of stinking rubbish. "The entire garbage of the city can be lifted in the next three days, on a war footing, employing thousands of employees and thousands of vehicles," claimed District Collector, Ernakulam, Mohammed Haneesh.
Joe Santo, a resident says: "This city has become a menace. It's become a city of garbage. This is horrible. Life has become miserable."
Health activists too are up in arms. They say the city is very close to an epidemic outbreak if the garbage is not cleared soon. "Each one has his own responsibility in this eradication of waste. Individual organisations and NGOs should join hands with the government," says local activist Dr Roby Kananchira.
But since Kochi has no place to dump its tonnes of garbage, the frenzied clean-up is like a band-aid on a deep wound. The civic body had to abandon plans to convert Brahmapuram, a village on the outskirts of Kochi, into a dumping ground after locals objected. And while the collector has decided to use his judicial powers and claim land belonging to the state for the purpose, a viable, long-term solution appears nowhere in sight.
Source: www.ibnlive.com, July 30, 2007
www.ibnlive.com, July 28, 2007
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