Soil emits fire and smoke at Kattur

Thrissur: Forensic experts have collected samples from Kallur near Puthukkad where fire and smoke emanated from under the soil. Revenue officials, firefighters, forensic experts, officials from factories and boilers department visited the area on Friday and Saturday. “The smoke is coming out from an area of nearly 10 cents where a paddy field had been filled up almost eight years ago using waste from Apollo Tyres Perambra. The waste may include chemicals like sulphur, carbon, potash and phosphorus,” Mukundapuram tahsildar I.J. Madhusoodhanan who visited the spot with experts told DC. “The collector has directed us to excavate the area only after getting the test results of the samples collected by forensic experts."

The soil in the area has now changed to sand, and when the fire force pumped water, the smoke started increasing. There is no one residing near this area, and the officials have cordoned off the place and erected ‘no entry’ boards. The area was earlier used for clay mining for the brick industry and was later filled by the owner using waste from the tyre factory. The local people have requested the district administration to conduct a study with the help of groundwater authority to find out whether the water in the wells in the region and that of Manalipuzha flowing through the area were contaminated. They said a large quantity of such waste had been dumped in the area some years ago to fill up pits of clay mining.