Residents to intensify protest against solid waste treatment facility at Edayar

Concerns expressed by people remain unresolved, says ward councillor

Residents of Ward 18 in Kadungalloor panchayat have decided to intensify the protest against the proposed solid waste treatment facility in the area.

The Edayar Poura Samrakshana Samiti, a combine of people opposing the project, had staged a protest near Binanipuram during Industries Minister P. Rajeeve’s visit to the area to attend a programme. The protesters, including women and senior citizens, had expressed apprehension that the solid waste processing facility would affect their health, besides making the region unfit for habitation.

“Why is the government adamant on setting up the plant here?” asked V.B. Maheshkumar, joint convener of the samiti on Wednesday. “As per the information provided to us by the authorities, a facility to process construction and demolition waste would be set up on the 2-acre land close to residential areas in the first phase. In the second phase, they plan to set up a facility for processing slaughter waste. The authorities are also planning to set up a facility to process plastic waste in the third phase,” he said.

Samiti representatives said that the Edayattuchal, which is being revived for paddy cultivation, is located close to the site. The project would have an impact on its ecology. They asked why the authorities cannot set up the facility at the dump site of the Kochi Corporation in Brahmapuram rather than insisting on having it in a residential area.

The plant authorities have set up a temporary office and installed a CCTV facility on the premises. Sunitha Kumari, ward councillor, said that the apprehensions expressed by the residents over the solid waste processing facility remain unresolved. "The protests are a natural reaction to the efforts by the authorities to set up such a facility close to a thickly populated area," she said.