Thiruvananthapuram Corporation fails to launch coconut husk drive

Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram Corporation had in the last week of September announced a drive to collect coconut husk, which it promised would happen in the first week of October. Now, even as October draws to a close, there are no updates on the drive. The drive couldn't be implemented, as the vehicles ferrying the items collected in the last drive could not be emptied, said a Corporation official. They had collected 25 tonnes of waste previous time.

The Corporation had linked with 'Sarojini Ponnaiya Foundation', a non-profit organisation in Nagercoil for the glass and footwear waste drive. Mayor V.K. Prasanth said, “We had faced some problems at the check-post. Since the quantity was enormous, there was some difficulty crossing the border.” Now the Corporation has invested a significant number of its officials in the Palayam Kitchen Bin campaign. The rest are busy with the Smart City campaign.

A Corporation official said that until November 4, the day when Palayam campaign is scheduled to end, there won't be a collection drive. The drive for coconut husks and shells is important as these would not get decomposed in kitchen bin or biogas plants. Burning can cause respiratory diseases, and is not advised. Corporation plans to give the husks to the crematoriums in the city.