In Brahmapuram, in all probability, the blaze broke out from thick layers of dry plastic waste heaped for several years
A pungent smell of burnt plastic welcomes you to Kerala’s commercial capital Kochi even a fortnight after the Brahmapuram waste management plant under the city corporation caught fire. The garbage mounds spread over 60 acres in the plant caught fire on March 2, 2023, posing severe challenges to the firefighting mechanisms in the state.
The fire was finally brought under control on the evening of March 13, 2023. But toxic emissions continue to engulf the city, making everyday life extremely miserable.
But, even as the state government remains in denial about the magnitude of the disaster, critics have pointed out plausible reasons behind the blaze.
Civil society movements active in Kochi said the incident exposed two things: The inability of the state government and the local body to contain the fire in the shortest possible duration and the unscientific solid waste management system that prevailed in Brahmapuram for over a decade.
On another level, it has exposed the outdated ways Kerala’s cities managed their accumulating waste.
Also read: 5 days in, Brahmapuram blaze continues to choke Kochi
In Brahmapuram, in all probability, the fire broke out from thick layers of dry plastic waste heaped for several years. The firefighters failed to contain it even after continued efforts for 12 days.
While Kerala has been promoting segregation of waste at source for more than a decade, the Kochi Municipal Corporation (KMC) and surrounding local bodies founded Brahmapuram as a centralised facility where they could dump unsegregated waste without bothering about the after-effects.
Despite annual burning incidents — Kochi residents said they have been witnessing the annual burning of plastic wastes within the Brahmapuram plant for the last 11 years and only this time, the things turned out of control — the corporation failed to modernise the waste treatment facility in the face of huge corruption involved in the process.
Even now, the state government and the corporation remain tight-lipped over how the fire broke out in the waste management plant.
Kerala’s opposition leader VD Satheesan alleged that the fire was deliberately set by one of the contractors assigned to treat the accumulating waste.
The opposition has accused the state government of awarding a Rs 54 crore bio-mining contract at Brahmapuram to an inexperienced Bengaluru-based firm allegedly run by the son-in-law of a senior leader of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). It has further alleged that the firm was responsible for the current mess.
To that allegation, CPI(M) leaders reacted by saying a sub-contract was awarded to the son of a senior Congress leader.
Reports are also gaining ground that the public sector Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) had approached the government two years ago with a proposal to start a waste-to-energy plant at Brahmapuram.
But the proposal was cold-shouldered due to unknown reasons. In recent years, city corporations of Kollam and Kannur terminated their contracts with the Bengaluru firm, citing its incompetency in running massive waste plants.
However, the KMC extended its deal for two more years last year. Now, even ruling party leaders say the contractor and subcontractor failed to do their duties, which is why the situation turned so bad.
Also read: ‘Unscientific’ disposal, treatment of waste behind massive fire at Ghazipur landfill, say experts
Experts said solid waste management turned ineffective at the plant which caused the crisis in the first place. The KMC and surrounding local bodies had committed major omissions in all areas of waste disposal, including collection, transportation, storage and segregation.
They also failed to address the disposal of tonnes of waste, termed legacy waste, accumulated over the years in Brahmapuram. Local activists said the plant is polluting the two rivers — Kadambrayar and Chithrapuzha — flowing through the region.
Activists said the plant has never successfully treated the waste as per norms since the stakeholders needed clear knowledge. Some of them said such plants can’t treat mixed waste.
In the case of Brahmapuram, it has a window composting facility that can treat organic waste but not mixed waste. There are allegations that the plant accepted more waste than its capacity.
Going by the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016, garbage should be segregated at the source itself and the biodegradable components of it must be treated at the source and converted as compost.
Kerala has a Solid Waste Management Policy, which emphasises decentralised waste treatment. The policy emphasises reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery and attaining zero waste scenario phase-by-phase.
Any centralised mode of waste treatment is against this policy, experts said. They said the decentralised waste management policy of Kerala must be implemented strongly.
The policy addresses the compulsions of a state known for its high population density, accumulating garbage and refusal of people to give away lands to set up plants. After all, in Kerala, people have an attitude of not-in-my-backyard.
Menawhile, people in Kochi and its vicinity have had to bear the brunt of the blaze. Even people living in the neighbouring Alappuzha district feel suffocated and have severe breathing-related ailments. At the same time, the state government has made face masks compulsory for all those who move outside their houses in the coastal metropolis and its surroundings.
Also read: Ghazipur, Delhi: Just why has this landfill been simmering for so long
Those employed in Kochi and those using work-from-home facilities are now back at their homes elsewhere, saying it would not be easy to breathe in the chosen city.
When asked about the steps taken to address the challenge in the coming days, the new district collector NSK Umesh maintained that the government had sought help from the New York City Fire Department to manage the situation at Brahmapuram.
On her part, health minister Veena George announced that a set of breathe well clinics would soon be opened in Kochi and a massive health survey would be conducted to assess the toxic impact of the massive fire from the garbage mounts.
Despite the announcement, the city and surroundings are witnessing large-scale throat pain, headache and eye allergy cases, other than a steady increase in respiratory problems.
On March 13, respiratory issues suffered by a 70-year-old Kochi resident worsened and he died in a local hospital. The family accused the emissions from Brahamapuram as the reason for the sudden aggravation of his respiratory problems.
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City residents said they have been witnessing the annual burning of plastic wastes within the Brahmapuram plant for the last 11 years and only this time, the things turned out of control. Photo: Shafeeq Thamarassery..png)
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