NEW DELHI: Over 11 days since the fire started at Kochi’s Brahmapuram waste treatment plant, toxic fumes are still emanating from the site. The issue was raised during the first day of the second leg of the Budget today where the opposition alleged the Brahmapuram fire was the biggest man-made disaster ever in Kerala.
Meanwhile, the Congress-led Opposition demanded a CBI probe into the fire incident at the Brahmapuram plant. In the Assembly, Opposition leader V D Satheesan said the government was not ready for a probe to shield the contractors who had taken up the bio-mining work at the damping yard.
The Opposition leader said the garbage was deliberately set on fire as the contractor had failed to clear the waste pile. “The company realized that an inspection from the government side would expose its failure to shift the garbage. Hence, it was deliberately set on fire. The minister is speaking on behalf of the firm. Was there any probe into the fire at the garbage hill? The minister is justifying the contractors only to protect the interest of certain quarters,” Satheesan alleged.
As of Sunday, 95 percent of the fire was doused off and efforts are being made to control the flickering flames, said local Self Government Department Minister M B Rajesh told the Assembly in response to allegations by the opposition.
A massive fire broke out on March 2nd in Kochi’s dump yard which was doused after three days of hardships. However, the fire has plummeted the air quality of the coastal city. Several citizens have been abandoning the city as breathing has become difficult following the fire that gushed out dense smoke for over a week.