For the last three days, Kochi city and its suburbs have been waking up to a haze of smoke emanating from the smouldering fire that broke out on Thursday evening at the solid waste dumping ground at Brahmapuram, around 20 kms from the city.
As the waste that caught fire comprised mostly plastic and other non-degradable material, the unpleasant smell from the fire has been causing breathing problems among those in the vicinity.
The level of pollution in the city has also risen in the last few days, prompting the Ernakulam Collector, Dr Renu Raj, to declare that people in Brahmapuram and nearby areas should not venture out on Sunday, and that non-essential shops in the area should remain closed.
Several fire engines have been deployed to douse the blaze. "The fire is under control at the top, but the smouldering fire beneath will take two to three days to subside," Kochi Corporation Mayor M Anilkumar told Moneycontrol.
Fire has broken out in the dump yard several times in the past few years, but this is the first time its fallout has been felt in and around the city. Earlier, the effect was confined to the Brahmapuram region. Inadequate number of fire hydrants and the receding water level of the nearby Kadambrayar lake have compounded the problems of the firefighters.
The incident has invited the wrath of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, which has served a show cause notice and imposed a fine of Rs 1.8 crore on Kochi Corporation for failing to take sufficient measures to prevent and control the fire.
The police are already conducting an inquiry on what started the fire, and will check on the possibility of sabotage.
Waste management has been a persistent problem for the city, which has been trying various measures to solve it. Around eight years ago, the corporation and the state government signed an agreement with a private company to set up a waste-to-energy plant for about Rs 300 crore. That project fell through after the company failed to raise the required amount.
Subsequently, the Kochi Corporation entered into an agreement with Zonta Infratech for biomining and clearing the waste that had piled up at Brahmapuram. The volume of waste is estimated at 5.5 lakh tonnes, spread over 40 acres. But though the biomining work was delayed and started around two years ago, it has been making slow progress. The fire is said to have erupted in the plastic waste segregated at the site.
The Kerala PCB had fined Kochi Corporation Rs 10.05 crore as compensation for delay in executing the work, but the Corporation got a stay from the court.
"Only about 20 percent of the biomining work has been completed. It should have been completed long ago. This has often resulted in fires. This time it is a bigger one and its fallout has spread to the city," said Kerala PCB Chairman Pradeep Kumar A B.
The private firm has been reportedly citing heavy rains as the reason for the delay in completing the work. "Our dealings are with the Corporation, and they are answerable for the delay whatever be the cause," Pradeep Kumar said.
After completing the biomining work the same firm is expected to bag the waste-to-energy project. But the Kochi Corporation seems to be having second thoughts about entrusting the project to Zonta.
"We haven’t signed any agreement. First let them complete the work at hand, then we will see," Anilkumar said.
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