Brahmapuram fire: Kerala HC constitutes committee, asks how long the smoke should be tolerated

The committee consists of Director of Suchitwa Mission, Chief Engineer of Local Self Government Department, District Collector, Chief Environmental Engineer of Pollution Control Board, Corporation Secretary and Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) Secretary.

The Court directed that the committee should visit Brahmapuram within 24 hours. It has also asked Kochi Corporation Secretary that how long the smoke should be tolerated.

The court was hearing on the suo motu petition initiated by it in connection with the fire at the Brahmapuram Waste Management Plant. The Division Bench of Justice SV Bhatti and Justice Basant Balaji were considered the petition.

The court said that the garbage disposal in Kochi should resume from tomorrow. It directed the Additional Chief Secretary to inform the next time of hearing of the case, including detailed implementation of the steps taken by the government.

The court observed that there will be health problems in Kochi city due to the obstruction of garbage disposal and directed that efforts should be made to solve it immediately.

It further directed local self-government secretary to submit an action plan related to solid waste management.

The Additional Chief Secretary informed the court that a meeting of local self-government bodies has been called on the matter. Also, the pollution control board informed the court that the situation in Brahmapuram is bad.

The court asked the corporation what is the current condition of Brahmapuram, to which the corporation replied that the fire was completely extinguished. The court asked the corporation to see if there is still smoke in the air, and also said that it and the court staff felt headache in the afternoon. The court asked to see the current status online.

The Pollution Control Board told the court that the direction of the wind was from sea to land. (ANI)