Tirunelveli: The district administration has collected 12 trucks of biomedical waste from Palavur, Kondanagaram, Bharathi Nagar, and Thidiyur and will send 18 more trucks back to Kerala on Monday.
"12 trucks of garbage have been collected from four places namely Palavur, Kondanagaram, Bharathi Nagar and Thidiyur. While 18 trucks of medical waste were already collected yesterday (Sunday), all of these will be taken across the border to Kerala today (Monday) itself," a communique of the administration states.
Biomedical waste from Kerala was dumped in several places including Konda Nagar panchayat, Seethaparpanallur panchayat, and Melathidiyur panchayat. The National Green Tribunal (South Zone) which conducted a suo motu inquiry in this regard, ordered the waste be collected and sent back to Kerala within three days.
A total of six cases have been registered in the matter — three at Suttamalli Police Station and one each at Mukudal, Seethaparapanallur and Munneerpallam Police Stations and four people including a Kerala resident have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Kerala officials came to Tirunelveli to inspect the place where the waste was dumped following which the Kerala government decided to collect and take them back. A team of over 30 officials led by the Thiruvananthapuram assistant collector has been assigned the task.
Trucks have been covered with tarpaulins to prevent the garbage from spilling on the road. While the garbage collection work is expected to be over by Monday, it has been reported that all the trucks will be taken from Tirunelveli to Kollam, Kerala, under heavy police security.
"In Kollam, the waste will be segregated and disposed of safely," Sakshi, an IAS officer from Kerala who inspected the garbage collection, said.
"A detailed report with video evidence on how much garbage is being transported in how many trucks will be submitted to the Green Tribunal. Trucks carrying garbage will be sent to the Tamil Nadu border under heavy police protection. The garbage is being transported to Kollam in Kerala. Bleaching powder and disinfectant will be sprayed at places from where the garbage is collected for sanitation. Later these places will be cleaned. To prevent garbage from being dumped again in districts including Tirunelveli, surveillance will be intensified at 18 checkposts in the border districts of Kanyakumari and Tenkasi," Tirunelveli district collector Karthikeyan said.
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