Daijiworld Media Network - Pathanamthitta
Pathanamthitta, Oct 28: Clean Kerala Company Ltd (CKCL) has launched a major waste clearance drive at Sabarimala, aiming to remove around 27 tonnes of accumulated waste from Pampa and adjoining areas ahead of the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
The operation comes amid longstanding concerns over improper waste disposal, the indiscriminate burning of plastic and environmental pollution in the ecologically sensitive Periyar Tiger Reserve. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has set November 10 as the deadline to clear all accumulated waste from Pampa and Sannidhanam before the pilgrimage season begins.
As part of the pre-season cleanup, CKCL has already removed around 17.68 tonnes of waste from pilgrim areas in Pampa. CKCL managing director G K Suresh Kumar told TNIE that approximately 10 tonnes of recyclable material would be transported from Pampa on Tuesday, taking the total quantity cleared from the area to around 27 tonnes.
Of the 17,680 kg of waste collected so far, 11,255 kg comprised recyclable metal, 3,605 kg was recyclable plastic and 2,820 kg was rejected waste. Around 100 workers have been deployed for the clearance operation, with work at Sannidhanam scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Suresh Kumar said the absence of a systematic mechanism for segregating, accounting for and removing recyclable waste had been a major concern at Sabarimala. Previously, recyclable materials were also being sent to incinerators and burned along with other waste, without a proper system to record the quantities recovered for recycling.
He said CKCL was now introducing a more systematic process to ensure that the waste collected and transported from the pilgrimage centres was properly accounted for.
A TDB official said the objective was to ensure complete sanitation at Pampa and Sannidhanam and remove all accumulated waste by November 10.
The official added that the existing waste management infrastructure remained fully operational. This includes a five-million-litre-per-day sewage treatment plant at Sannidhanam and a 3.5-million-litre-per-day plant at Pampa. Incinerators with capacities of 700 kg per hour at Sannidhanam and 400 kg per hour at Pampa are also operational.
To strengthen waste segregation, the board is scaling up the three-bin system. The official, however, pointed out that deploying tractors to transport waste from Sannidhanam would become impossible once the pilgrimage season begins, making it essential to complete the clearance work before the rush of devotees.