Brahmapuram plant may not survive the monsoon

KOCHI: Waste removal from the city and outskirts might be hit as the Kochi Corporation’s solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram is in a very dilapidated condition and might collapse any time. Though the local body had allocated Rs 1 cr from the annual Plan funds to renovate the plant, the funds have not been used. Health Committee chairperson V.K Minimol while admitting that the plant was in a bad condition said that the Corporation would start the renovation works soon. “Rs.1 crore allocated in the Plan funds will be used for renovating the building and constructing other facilities like toilets for workers. Recently, the road within the dumping yard has been repaired,” she said.

According to Opposition councillors, if emergency repair works are not carried out, the structure might collapse which will hit waste removal from the city and neighbouring municipalities which are dependent on it. Neighbouring municipalities like Thrikkakkara, Kalamassery, Tripunithura and Aluva are transporting municipal solid waste from their areas to Brahmapuram. “The local body has miserably failed in maintaining the treatment plant properly. Though a new building at a cost of Rs 1.75 crore was constructed two years ago, it remains unused. Now, the priority should be to immediately repair the existing plant,” said V.P Chandran, CPM councillor. Though the state government has proposed to set up a modern waste to energy plant at Brahmapuram with a capacity of treating 300 tonnes of waste per day, the proposal still remains in the conceptual stage.