The damaged internal roads and waterlogging inside the solid waste treatment plant are hampering the clearing of accumulated waste and fertiliser at Brahmapuram Municipal Solid Waste Treatment plant of the Kochi Corporation.

Water from the nearby water body is reaching the floor of the plant and soaking the waste. A temporary bund has been constructed for preventing water incursion. When it rains, the rain water too spreads dampness on the waste, making the processing nearly impossible, said the officials of the agency which took up the assignment to run the plant.

Residents oppose use of garbage as filler material for platform

With the proposal for using garbage as filler material for platform construction at the Kochu Veli railway station also hitting the roadblock, the State government is now bringing the focus back on source-level waste treatment projects. The government is now considering a proposal to provide subsidy for hotels, chicken stalls, hospitals, private schools, and other institutions also for setting up independent waste-processing plants on their premises.

The personnel of Forest Department and the police on Monday evicted a group of tribespeople, owing allegiance to the pro-CPI(M) Adivasi Kshema Samiti (AKS), who had encroached upon 17.65 hectares of vested forest at Thumbassery, near Makkiyad, under the North Wayanad Forest Division in the district.

In the peaceful action, the police arrested 60 people, including 42 men, 14 women, and four children. The eviction team destroyed the 40 huts put up by the tribespeople. (The eviction team had held discussions with AKS leaders and members before the eviction, sources said.).

Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has said that the State government will soon adopt the benefits of technological advancements including Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance cameras in order to ensure the effective implementation of waste management.

He was launching the Janamaithri Waste-free Town programme at a function held here on Saturday. The awareness programme is being jointly implemented by Kottayam Janamaithri Police and the Student Police.

The world health statistics 2012 report, released by the World Health Organisation on Thursday, focuses on the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across the world.

The report says that one in three adults worldwide has high blood pressure, which is directly responsible for a majority of deaths from strokes and heart disease. The report also points out that one in 10 adults globally has diabetes.

The district administration will hold awareness classes on the detoxification of huge quantities of endosulfan pesticide kept in godowns of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala.

The classes would be conducted by experts in Pullur-Periye, Kayyur-Cheemeni and Panathady panchayats on May 22 and May 24, official sources here said. The experts would strive to clear all apprehensions of the public regarding the detoxification programme, which was a long standing demand of the people of the affected localities, they said.

PCB sitting on schemes to check dumping of waste into river

The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has been sitting on two key projects meant to check dumping of industrial and other effluents into the Periyar river, pointing to negligence on the part of the agency on a matter of utmost importance.Frequent fish kills and discolouration of the river has already earned several brickbats for the monitoring agency.

Premachandran sees attempt to push through neoliberal reforms

A high-level consultative meeting and seminar on the draft National Water Policy 2012 here on Wednesday expressed concern over several of its features, calling for a cautious approach and serious thoughts on the actual objectives for amending the existing policy. The former Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran, delivering a special address at the event organised by the C. Achutha Menon Study Centre and Library and the Department of Environment and Climate Change

Plastic carrybags below 40 microns is banned

The Thrissur Corporation is still grappling with the challenge of enforcing a ban on plastic carry bags in the city. The City Corporation declared a ban on plastic carrybags below thickness of 40 microns from July 1, 2011, with a promise to rid the city of the plastic menace. But with just a month away from the first anniversary of the ban, not a single street is seen without the litter of plastic carrybags.

Collector's order backs hospital's efforts

Efforts of the Government Medical College Hospital authorities to keep the premises clean and litter-free have received a fillip with the District Collector stepping in to declare the premises a ‘plastic-free zone'. The official declaration to this effect was issued recently.