Cams to catch waste dumpers at Karimadom colony

Thiruvanathapuram: A dumpsite, which stands close to the recently built aerobic bin unit at Karimadom colony, will soon be under camera surveillance. For, it is regularly fed by waste collectors bringing in sacks of refuse from restaurants and poultry farms, according to corporation officials and residents. Mayor V.K. Prasanth told DC, "we have bought portable cameras to be installed at many problem sites. At Karimadom colony and Rajaji Nagar colony, these cameras will be set up to deter dumping of waste."

In Rajaji Nagar there is a group of waste collectors who takes waste from clients for money and dumps it in the drainage duct cutting through the colony. While the Rajaji Nagar collectors are mostly women, in Karimadom it is primarily young men. Insiders say that they work for rates  ranging from Rs 150 to Rs 250 for each sack.  Every day,  30-35 sacks of waste reach Karimadom, according to a former waste collector, even as corporation officials say that night squads keep an eye out for them.

Since the dump is right next to the Karimadom pond connected to Thekkinikkara canal, the pollution assumes gravity, even if the pond itself may not be in use. The pond is now covered with water hyacinths.  The mayor said that at the fag end of the ongoing BSUP project there will be a cleanup of the pond. Its last cleanup was in 2014. Many say that the dump in Karimadom colony is a "cleaner" version of a bigger dumpsite before the bin unit was set up. Corporation officials say that there are 350 households which make use of the five bins at the aerobic unit, inaugurated three months ago. One of the bins is ready to be turned into compost.