Action soon against dumping of waste

Kochi: In the wake of increasing incidents of waste dumping in the streets, the district-level core committee for waste management that met on Tuesday decided to take strict action against those resorting to such acts. The district administration, corporation and police will put strict surveillance in place to book the offenders.Residents have been dumping waste in the streets with the waste movement from the city getting stalled due to the fire mishap at Brahmapuram. The accumulated waste will now be removed with the support of ward level sanitation council, Asha workers and Haritha Karma Sena. These agencies will clear all the waste-dumping hotspots with the support of local residents and NGOs. The visuals from such areas will be kept as a digital document, a meeting of the district level core committee convened by district collector NSK Umesh decided.The collector also instructed to take urgent measures to ensure cleanliness and hygiene at camps of guest workers. Haritha Keralam Mission and labour department should ensure this. Kochi corporation and city police should together carry out inspections in the labour camps within the city. The district collector also instructed the department heads to dispose off e-waste and damaged furniture at various government offices in the district.As part of the move to start decentralised waste treatment, ward level meetings were held in Kochi and clusters were formed for the purpose. In the local bodies where the strength of Haritha Karma Sena is less, members of Kudumbashree should also be used for waste collection.Enforcement squads are operating in all the local bodies in the district. Fine is being collected from those who litter waste. Police are conducting night patrolling in the city and suburbs. Volunteers have been deployed to check dumping of waste in corporation limits. They would conduct surveillance during night as well. Kochi corporation will soon bring out ‘My Kochi’, an App which will help the public to alert the authorities about waste dumping.