Two more cases registered in Kerala medical waste dumping incident in Tirunelveli
A few days ago, the incident in which several bags of medical waste from Kerala that had been in Tirunelveli, Nadukallur, Kodaganallur and Kondanagaram had caused a stir across the state.
CHENNAI: Two more cases have been filed in connection with the Kerala waste dumping issue in which tonnes of medical waste from hospitals in Kerala were dumped in Tirunelveli and surrounding areas with the help of agents, according to Daily Thanthi.
With already three cases being registered previously in the Suthamalli police station in connection with the incident, two middlemen from Tamil Nadu had been arrested.
A few days ago, the incident in which several bags of medical waste from Kerala that had been in Tirunelveli, Nadukallur, Kodaganallur and Kondanagaram had caused a stir across the state.
Following this, the district administration swung into action and collected evidence like syringes, medicine bottles and blood samples and documents that confirmed that the waste was generated at Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cancer Center and Credence multi-speciality hospital.
The evidence was submitted to the National Green Tribunal for further perusal after which the tribunal directed the Kerala State Pollution Control Board to remove the medical waste from Tirunelveli within three days.
Subsequently, a team from Kerala arrived and inspected the dumping site and declared that the medical waste that had been dumped was not hazardous. "They are merely samples used for medical testing that are not harmful. We will submit a report to the Kerala government in this regard," they said. The team also said that efforts would be taken as per the Green Tribunal's directive to remove the waste soon.
Speaking about the issue, Tirunelveli district collector Karthikeyan said that the veracity of the claims made by the Kerala team should be investigated. "If the medical waste was non-hazardous, what is the need to spend so much money and hire middlemen to dump it across the border?," he said. Karthikeyan further said that considering the issue as dangerous, strict action should be initiated against those involved to prevent such incidents in the future.