18 trucks haul dumped medical wastes from Tirunelveli back to Kerala
The Tirunelveli collector said disinfectant will be sprayed at the sites once all the waste was cleared and surveillance will be strengthened at all 16 check posts in Kanniyakumari and two check posts in Tenkasi
Medical wastes dumped near Palavoor in Tirunelveli being removed and hauled by a truck on Sunday
MADURAI: Kerala trucked back most of the medical wastes dumped by it in Tirunelveli amidst significant official and police presence on Sunday.
The move came after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) pulled up Kerala last week for discarding hazardous wastes generated at its laboratories and medical facilities at public places in Palavoor, Kodaganallur, and surrounding areas of Tirunelveli.
Teams led by Tirunelveli collector KP Karthikeyan and Trivandrum assistant collector (training), Sakshi Mohan, along with officials from the departments of Health, PCB, and Corporation monitored the proceedings.
The Tirunelveli collector said disinfectant will be sprayed at the sites once all the waste was cleared and surveillance will be strengthened at all 16 check posts in Kanniyakumari and two check posts in Tenkasi.
Sources said a fleet of 18 trucks was put to work to carry the waste from six points back to Kerala, while one more site will be cleared on Monday.
Police personnel followed the , to make sure they crossed the border and a video was recorded.
A Sankar, executive director, Empower India, Centre for Environment, Research and Advocacy, said he raised the issue of cross-border waste dumping last week at the Climate Literacy Conference in Chennai. He had urged the Tamil Nadu Government to hold talks with its counterpart in Kerala and bring stricter rules to prevent the practice. “Kerala being an environment-conscious state should not treat its neighbour as a dump ground,” he said.
Last week, the district administration initiated action after the Suthamalli police filed a case under Sections 271 and 272 of BNS and under the Environment Protection Act based on a complaint. Officials from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the Rural Development inspected the site and sent samples for tests. So far, five persons have been arrested in connection with the case, sources said.