Title - Garbage likely to be taken to Murukumpuzha

Garbage accumulated on waysides and public places in the city are likely to be transported to Murukumpuzha on Friday, to be used as filler material for the extension of a railway platform.The State government on Thursday directed the city Corporation and district administration to immediately facilitate the movement of garbage from the city to Murukumpuzha. The government issued the directive after the city Corporation suspended the transportation of garbage to Kochuveli railway station. Garbage from the city has been taken to Kochuveli for last one week for the construction of a platform there.The Corporation suspended the movement of garbage on Thursday citing technical reasons. Later in the day, the Local Self-Government Department issued a directive to the Corporation to transport the municipal waste to Murukumpuzha railway station.City Mayor K. Chandrika said that the Corporation was not against the Murukumpuzha project primarily as the local people of the panchayat favoured the proposal. “At Kochuveli we faced stiff public opposition, yet we went ahead with the project. But later we found that the waste filling was not being done in a scientific manner, so we stopped. But at Murukumpuzha, they have already constructed sidewalls for platform construction and all arrangements are in place. We will ensure that the garbage filling is done in a scientific manner there,” she said.

District Collector K.N. Satheesh said that some preliminary work would have to be done before taking garbage to the railway station. “Since the approach road to the railway land is narrow, the garbage trucks will have to move through a private property. We will have to knock down a portion of the compound wall in this property. We have received the permission of the property owners so this will be done in the morning itself,” he said.

Meanwhile, representatives of Mangalapuram panchayat, where the railway station is located, said that they agreed not to oppose the proposal if the garbage filling was done in a scientific manner. “There are concerns among people here. But we agreed to the proposal as this is only a temporary project for bringing waste and it will help in the development of Murukumpuzha railway station which is in a badly neglected condition. As long as the garbage dumping is done in a scientific manner we will cooperate with the project,” panchayat vice-president Bennet Y. Gomez said.