Kozhikode: The city corporation has landed in a fresh controversy with the opposition alleging conspiracy behind the fire accident in a waste treatment plant at West Hill.
Kozhikode corporation opposition leader K C Shobita alleged that the corporation authority might have set fire to the waste dumped in the treatment plant as recycling was interrupted.
“Such fire accidents are very common in Kozhikode corporation. Whenever the quantity of the waste dumped in treatment plants or yards increases and the contract is about to expire, fire erupts there,” said Shobita raising suspicion about the corporation's involvement in the fire accident.
Fire Force officials are examining the spot to ascertain the cause of the blaze. Toxic fumes have been choking the area and people have been complaining of health issues due to the smell of burning plastic hanging in the air.
A team of forensic experts would inspect the plant on Monday to confirm the cause of the fire, Manorama News reported.
The fire broke out around 9.30 am on Sunday and necessitated the deployment of 10 fire units, including a water bowser, to control the blaze.
Kozhikode Corporation health standing committee chairperson Dr S Jayasree told Onmanorama that the operation of the waste treatment plant was interrupted due to a technical issue in the machine used for recycling the waste.
“At present, the waste treatment plant is functioning as a material recovery facility. The waste collected by Haritha Karma Sena and other corporation staff is taken to this centre and segregated for sale. A portion of the collected waste rejected by the scrap dealers is kept here. Every day Haritha Karma Sena members have been collecting 100 tonnes of non-degradable waste from houses. Along with this, waste collected from public places is also taken to this plant. It is assumed that a short circuit led to the fire accident," said Jayasree.
Non-degradable waste items like plastic collected by the corporation staff from public places are stored in this plant. Konari Waste Management Service, a private firm, is in charge of the operation of the plant.