Locals vow not to reopen dumpyard
local people have been on a relay fast for over six months over garbage
By : t sudheesh
Update: 2014-10-11 05:08 GMT
ALAPPUZHA: The six-decade-old municipal dumpyard in Sarvodayapuram where the local people have been on a relay fast for over six months against the municipality’s routine of bringing in truckloads of garbage, was closed down after the CPM-backed comprehensive waste management programme started functioning in the municipal area .
Chairperson Mercy Diana Masido said the municipality was capable of disposing of waste at source itself. “We don’t want to open the Sarvodayapuram dumpyard anymore. We have been working on setting up biogas units across the municipality. It can be done with half the expense involved in dumping waste in Sarvodayapuram. The municipal administration is so happy to have a permanent waste management system .Hopefully, it will be a grand success in the near future”, she adds.
Malinya Virudha Samara Samithi leader Sethunath said the people of Sarvodayapuram had no problems now. “It’s evident that wonders can be done if politicians show the will to make changes. We will not let anybody open the dumpyard again. Enough is enough”, he says, hailing the new system for comprehensive waste management in the municipality. Nisa Mohammad Koya, a mother of two living near the waste dumpyard says it’s a a great relief that the dumpyard has been shut.
“Though the waste which was already dumped on the14 acres has not yet been treated in a scientific manner, we are no more scared of epidemics. Over the years, even the groundwater had become contaminated and unfit for use. With the dumpyard closed a month ago, we can live here now. There is no stink. Children are happy," she says.