Efforts are being made to clear garbage in a village in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu on December 22, 2024. Photo credit: PTI
A 25-member team from Kerala has arrived in Tirunelveli district to remove trucks of hazardous waste transported from Kerala to various places in the district. The clean-up campaign began on Sunday (December 22, 2024) morning.
The waste found at places including Pajabhor, Kodaganallur, Kallur and Kondanagram included biomedical materials including syringes, blood samples and other hazardous waste mixed with solid waste. These wastes are said to have been transported from a regional cancer center and a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
The case, which attracted significant media attention, prompted the South Bench of the National Green Tribunal to take up the case itself.
A bench of Justice Pushpa Satyanarayan and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati on Thursday directed the Kerala government to remove the biomedical waste mixed with solid waste within three days of the order.
Following this directive, Kerala government officials inspected the affected sites on Friday and said necessary action would be taken as per the NGT’s directive. They also said that they will submit a detailed report to the Kerala government.
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To comply with the order and implement the cleanup, 16 heavy trucks were brought from Kerala to remove tons of garbage dumped at six different locations in Tirunelveli district. Officials present at the site included Sakshi Mohan, Assistant Collector, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala Pollution Control Board officials.
Additionally, Cheranmahadevi Sub-Collector Arpit Jain, Assistant Collector (Training) Ambika Jain and officials from Revenue and Health Departments were also present to inspect the operation.
published – December 22, 2024 at 12:55 pm IST