Kochi | In the wake of the recent fire at the Brahmapuram waste plant that resulted in poisonous fumes covering this port city, the Ernakulam district administration has decided to go in for digital equipment for better monitoring of the site to prevent such an incident from recurring.
District Collector N S K Umesh said the administration will also approach start-ups for fireproofing the plant and a detailed project report would be prepared for finding a permanent solution to prevent frequent fire accidents at the garbage plant.
The district administration will also form a health expert committee to study the health issues caused by the fire accident and also to create awareness among people, he said.
The Green Task Force will start collecting organic waste from houses from April one and the organic waste would be treated at the source.
"Our goal is to make Ernakulam garbage-free before World Environment Day," the Collector said in a statement issued by the district administration.
In the first meeting of the monitoring committee, constituted to find solutions to prevent fire accidents at Brahmapuram, it was decided to erect a watch tower at the garbage treatment plant, for improving the security at the plant, the statement said. A decision has also been taken to increase the security at the gate, appoint fire watchmen, and also to install CCTV cameras at the plant.
A plan for this will be prepared by the Fire Service department and will be submitted to the District Collector and Kochi Corporation, it said.
Road facilities around the plant would also be improved for providing better access to fire tenders and More fire hydrants and LED lamps will be installed at the plant, were the other decisions taken in the meeting according to the statement.
A recent fire at the garbage plant could only be controlled after 12 days during which smoke from burning plastic caused severe air pollution in Kochi, considered the financial capital of Kerala.
The allegedly irresponsible handling of the plant by the Kochi Corporation was widely criticized by the locals and by opposition political parties.