Representative image showing biomedical waste.
Credit: DH File Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: The back-to-back instances of garbage including biomedical waste from Kerala being dumped in neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is casting a shadow over Kerala's much hyped efforts to declare the state garbage free by 2025 March.
The Kerala State Pollution Control Board has initiated a probe into the latest instance of garbage from Kerala being dumped in parts of Tamil Nadu. Indian Medical Association - Kerala chapter run bio medical treatment plant authorities have also sought a probe into the illegal and unscientific disposal of bio medical waste from Kerala in neighbouring states.
A police team from Tamil Nadu was in Kerala on Wednesday to probe into the dumping of garbage from Kerala in Tamil Nadu.
Both the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and a city based private hospital Credence denied the allegations that the biomedical waste from their hospitals were illegally dumped in Tamil Nadu. Both the hospital authorities told DH that they were disposing biomedical waste through the IMA run plant - IMAGE (Indian Medical Association Goes Eco-friendly) at Palakkad in central Kerala.
RCC director Dr Rekha A Nair said that old papers of the hospital that were being disposed of through a private agency along with general waste was found along with the illegally dumped garbage in Tamil Nadu. "The Tamil Nadu Police team was convinced that we are disposing garbage through the proper channels only," she said.
It is suspected that agencies that collect general waste were illegally collecting biomedical waste from some private hospitals and disposing unscientifically.
IMAGE secretary Dr Krishna Kumar said that they have given a representation to the state health secretary seeking a thorough investigation into dumping of waste from Kerala in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as it is a shame for Kerala.
At present Kerala is having two centralised biomedical treatment facilities. Apart from IMA run IMAGE, the other one is at Kochi run by Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited (KEIL).
It is officially estimated that the total biomedical waste generated in Kerala is around 70 tons daily. IMAGE has a handling capacity of 70 tons and KEIL has handling capacity of 16 tons.