A nightmare begins for city

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vilappil panchayat can say goodbye to its worries. But for the city, it raises a new set of concerns. On Wednesday, the waste collection in the city came to a halt. Plastic covers could be seen in front of houses, waiting to be picked up by the Kudumbashree women. With the Vilappil panchayat shutting down the waste treatment plant, there is no way waste collection can be resumed in the coming days too.  The Vilappil panchayat and the Janakeeya Samithi have made it clear that garbage trucks would not be allowed into the area. The panchayat has already closed down the plant too. The Corporation, on the other hand, is waiting for a clear direction from the State Government as to what to do with the garbage. Till Wednesday evening, the air has not been cleared and the confusion has trickled down to the Cleanwell units too. They are not sure if ever they could get back to work.  ‘’We have been asked to wait for three days by the Health Inspector in our area,’’ said a Cleanwell unit member in Sasthamangalam. For the workers, it has snatched away a source of income they have been enjoying for the last six years. While the Corporation had made big plans to convert the workers into experts in decentralised waste disposal methods, including biowaste, ring-compost and vermicompost plants, nothing has taken off, leaving the 85 Cleanwell units into uncertainty.  ‘’We are ready to train ourselves in the new methods. But the Corporation or the councillors are not taking the effort to set up mini-plants,’’ said a worker. Another said that the Mayor has already initiated a decentralised plant in her ward which keeps her safe from the stench of waste.  It is surprising that many of the residents’ associations, flats, councillors and for that matter ordinary people have not even started thinking of alternatives, if the waste collection by Cleanwell units comes to a stop. The plastic covers in front of the houses are a testimony to this. ‘’There are no dustbins on the streets or big dumper placers like in the times of former Mayor V Sivankutty. So, where are we going to dump the waste? On the roads?,’’ asked Jyothi,  a housewife residing at Palkulangara.