Fort Kochi residents raise waste woes

KOCHI: The residents of Fort Kochi are up in arms against the Kochi Corporation for its failure in implementing the ‘Zero Waste Tourism Destination’ project here. The Kochi Corporation Council passed the project five years back and the State government had allocated `43 lakh for it. However, even after scores of meetings and repeated requests from various quarters, the project continues to remain on paper.Last week, representatives of ten Fort Kochi residents’ associations met the Fort Kochi Councillor to discuss the issue and register their protest. In case of continuing delay in implementing the project, the members decided to protest against the Corporation.The ‘Zero Waste Tourism Destination’ is a one of its kind of waste management project. It aims not only at the waste disposal but also at generating jobs and turning waste disposal into a money earning venture. Under the project, residents of Fort Kochi, shop owners and visitors would join hands to collect, reprocess and recycle the waste. During the segregation of waste, products that can be used to make profits will be sorted out. For instance coconut shells can be used to make handicrafts and newspapers to make paper bags.With the help of the residents’ associations, biodegradable waste will be collected and disposed using vermi-composting and aerobic composting.However, the plant at Fort Kochi which has a capacity to decompose 800 kg of waste per day, is lying unutilised due to the delay in the implementation of the zero waste project. “We have taken up the issue several times with the Corporation. About 15 meetings were held over the years to discuss the matter. The first phase of the project, with a funding of `17.5 lakh, was also released last year. The amount was to be used to employ people to collect waste for door-to-door disposal. But nothing has come out of it so far,” said Antony Kureethara, Fort Kochi Corporation Councillor.In the absence of door-to-door collectors the waste from the household is now being collected by the Corporation workers at a fee from the residents. “Now, there are hardly any Corporation workers for cleaning of the public spaces in Fort Kochi. All of them go for door-to-door waste collection as it helps them earn extra money. Therefore, whenever a drain is blocked or garbage is dumped somewhere, we have to wait for days to get the work done,” said the Councillor.Also, the Corporation has allocated only two lorries per week, to collect the waste from Fort Kochi area. The lorries that operate on daily basis collect waste only from houses. This has led to accumulation of waste for days together at the public spaces. Meanwhile, the Corporation said that it will take measures to implement the programme. “We have been conducting meetings take up the project. It will be implemented immediately,” said Mayor Tony Chammany.