Kozhikode Corporation plans field trips to clear doubts over STPs

Councillors told to convince local people of the need for treatment plants

The Kozhikode Corporation is planning to take an all-party delegation as well as residents of Kothi and Avikkal Thodu to sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the State to clear doubts over the proposed plants at the two places.

Councillor P.C. Rajan had made a submission at the corporation council meeting on Friday, alleging that vested interests were creating misconceptions about the projects among local people. Mayor Beena Philip shared her experience of visiting an STP maintained by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) in Thiruvananthapuram, while Corporation Secretary K.U. Bini said both the projects had been cleared by the State Pollution Control Board (PCB) and the Coastal Zone Management Authority (KZMA), and that an environment impact study was also conducted. She said the civic body needed to complete the projects by March 2023 and added that ₹308 crore out of ₹480 crore allocated to the corporation under the second phase of AMRUT was for the construction of more STPs in the city.

Several councillors spoke of the need for STPs and appealed to the Opposition councillors to convince local people of the necessity of the projects. Congress and IUML councillors agreed on the need for STPs but stood by their view that such projects were not to be implemented in thickly populated areas like Kothi and Avikkal Thodu. On the other hand, LDF councillors said that every part of Kozhikode was thickly populated, and that STPs were the need of the hour in such places.

In a surprising move, BJP councillors offered their full support for the project, besides the proposed slaughter house at Kothi.

Deputy Mayor C.P. Musafir Ahamed said that all issues raised by local people shall be resolved. He requested councillors to do their best to convince people of the benefits of STPs.

Congress councillor S.K. Aboobakker, in another submission, brought the council’s attention to the defunct biogas plant at the central market and pointed out that the failure of such hyped projects were the reason for people’s apprehension about STPs.

Councillors K.T. Sushaj, Saritha Parayeri, and M.N. Praveen made submissions on encroachment on wetlands in the city. The Mayor said the issue had been brought to the attention of the District Collector.