Waste from Thiruvananthapuram city being dumped in nearby panchayats despite tracking mechanism by Corporation

Despite steps including GPS tracking of waste collection vehicles put in place by the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation, at least some of the waste collectors continue to evade these mechanisms and dump biodegradable waste in adjacent panchayats and municipalities.

Earlier this week, a person attached to one of the agencies contracted by the civic body to transport waste to processing centres in Ernakulam was caught by the Aruvikkara police for allegedly dumping waste in Aruvikkara and surrounding areas. The vehicle used for dumping the waste was seized.

Contract terminated

According to Corporation officials, the civic body has terminated the contract with the person after he was arrested, but it is still unsure whether the waste that he dumped was collected from the city or from nearby local bodies or other agencies. The Corporation has contracted eight agencies to transport the collected waste daily to the processing centres in Ernakulam.

“All of the vehicles are equipped with GPS. So, if a particular amount of waste is collected from here, we can ensure that as much amount reaches the processing centres. However, there are possibilities of over-riding this system using vehicles without GPS. Maybe, some might attempt such methods so that they will not have to spend on fuel. Also, one of the processing plants had functional issues last week. Some collectors who do not have adequate storage facilities for a couple of days might resort to dumping,” said an official.

15 tonnes a day

On an average, 15 tonnes of biodegradable waste a day is transported from the city to processing centres. On days when festivals or major events take place in the city, this goes up to 25 tonnes a day. A team led by the Palode range officer had arrested two persons last week for attempting to dump waste in the forest area. The arrested persons had falsely claimed that the waste was being transported to pig farms.