Thrikkakara municipal councillors, led by Chairperson Ajitha Thankappan, stopped a truck carrying garbage from Kochi to the Brahmapuram plant. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A fresh impasse has emerged over waste disposal with Thrikkakara municipal authorities opposing the transportation of waste from the Kochi Corporation to the Brahmapuram yard.
Thrikkakara municipal councilors, led by Chairperson Ajitha Thankappan, stopped two truckloads of garbage in front of the municipal office on Thursday morning.
“If waste from Kochi Corporation and other local bodies can be taken to Brahmapuram, then Thrikkakara Municipality, through which trucks carrying garbage pass, should also be allowed to dispose of their waste at the plant. We will not allow movement of trucks to the plant until the demand is met,” Ms. Thankappan said while on her way to meet Mayor M. Anilkumar to discuss the issue.
Mr Anilkumar, however, termed the protest as politically motivated and rejected the argument that waste from local bodies other than the Kochi Corporation was being disposed of in Brahmapuram. “The Thrikkakara municipal authorities could have taken up the matter at a meeting of two ministers earlier this month, in which it was decided not to extend the deadline for disposal of waste from local bodies other than the Kochi Corporation in Brahmapuram. Not doing so then and protesting now means it stems from politics. The municipality can take up the matter with the minister [Minister for Local Self Government] When he is here on Friday as it is beyond the authority of the corporation to take a decision on the matter,” he said.
Ms. Thankappan, on her part, claimed that she had actually raised the issue of waste disposal at the meeting, and that the minister had asked her to empanel an agency for the purpose. “We are in the process of doing it. Our demand is that we be given time till the end of this month till an alternate mechanism is worked out. We will meet the minister on Friday. If the problem still persists, We will resume our protest against the dumping of garbage in Brahmapuram,” he said.