Kochi: Twenty personnel of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services are under treatment here after inhaling toxic fumes while trying to put out the fire at the Brahmapuram waste dumping yard, said Ernakulam District Fire Officer M K Satheeshan. He said most of them experienced shortness of breath, constipation and vomiting.
Battling thick fumes in windy conditions, about 150 officials in 25 units are working to put out the fire which is raging for the past two days. They are expecting to douse 80 per cent of it by Sunday evening.
The fire erupted soon after the contract period of Bengaluru-based consortium Zonta Infratech Pvt Ltd, which was engaged in biomining the waste, expired.
The firm was supposed to finish the biomining in nine months, as per the contract. The company already received Rs 14 crore out of the Rs 55 crore they were promised. However, the mining reached nowhere even as contract period ran out.
(Biomining is the process of extracting metals from ores or waste by using microorganisms.)
There have been calls for a vigilance inquiry into the appointment of the firm. It has been alleged that the company that has no prior experience in biomining was given the contract by the authorities after crores of rupees changed hands.
Former Kochi mayor Tony Chammany alleged that the fire incident was caused in a bid to stop the vigilance inquiry.
Kochi City Police Commissioner K Sethuraman said that such allegations will be inquired into as a case about the incident was registered. He also said that putting out the fire is the current priority and steps will be taken to avoid such incidents in the future.
An emergency meeting was also convened under the leadership of Health Minister Veena George. Steps to prevent the incident will be taken, she said while assessing the health issues triggered by the spread of smoke.
