Kerala officials inspect medical waste dumped near Tirunelveli

Kerala officials inspect sites in Tamil Nadu where medical waste was dumped, sparking outrage and prompting further investigation.

Officials from Kerala conducted an inspection at sites in Nadukallur and Kodaganallur near Tirunelveli, where medical waste from Kerala were reportedly dumped.

The issue of biomedical waste being dumped into waterbodies in Nadukallur and Kodaganallur created a widespread outrage across Tamil Nadu. Following this, officials from various departments, including the Revenue Department and Rural Development Department, conducted onsite inspections.

Subsequently, the officials collected syringes, blood samples and documents from the dumped medical waste at Nadukallur and three other locations. These were identified as waste from Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cancer Centre and a private hospital in the Kerala capital city. The collected materials were submitted to National Green Tribunal (NGT) bench in Chennai.

In compliance with the NGT’S directive, a 10-member team from Kerala government, including representatives from Kerala Pollution Control Board, Kerala Health Department and Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, inspected the sites near Tirunelveli. They also collected samples from the dumped waste.

The officials from the Kerala government stated that a report would be submitted to the government and further action would be taken based on the findings.