Kochi chokes on pollution as fumes from waste plant fire continues

High Court says city 'trapped in gas chamber'; IAF choppers spray water; schools shut for two days

Kochi, the coastal Kerala city known for its air quality, has had a thick haze for the last six days after a solid waste treatment plant caught fire Thursday.

Pollution in Kochi on Tuesday was worse than in New Delhi, as the authorities struggled to control fumes from the municipal corporation’s plant in Brahmapuram. The Kerala High Court said "the city is trapped in a gas chamber" and helicopters of the Indian Air Force were deployed for spraying water over areas near the plant on Tuesday. Business leaders in the city expressed concern about the air quality, but said that it has not affected their work. Authorities said that the fire is under control.

According to Kochi’s air quality index dashboard, the concentration of poisonous PM2.5 particulate matter was 2.7 times above the WHO’s recommended limit. PM2.5 and PM10 are minute particles present in the air, the exposure to which is harmful to health. Kochi had a PM2.5 of 41 and PM10 of 91 on Tuesday: much higher than 31 and 81 respectively in New Delhi, often ranked the world's most polluted capital.

“We are not yet impacted by the pollution. There is no dip in footfall too at our amusement park . However, I am staying in the Palarivattom area, where we are experiencing foul smell and other issues related to pollution,” said Kochouseph Chittilappilly, founder of V-Guard Industries and a chain of amusement parks called Wonderla.

The High Court remarks came after it filed a suo motu case based on a letter by Justice Devan Ramachandran. The court demanded strict action against the people responsible for the fire. The government had announced a holiday for schools in the city for the last two days.

“Some of the shops and business units were closed only on Sunday. We will have to leave with this and cannot afford another shutdown as the industry is slowly coming back to normalcy after being hit badly by the pandemic,” said Raja Sethunath, chairman of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India’s (Assocham) Kerala state development council. Sethunath said the government should come out with a fresh tender to award waste treatment to a known corporate.

According to the media reports last year, Kochi generates around 326 tonnes of waste daily. More than 90 per cent of this waste is collected daily. “Now Kochi is living with more pollution than Delhi. I think rather than thinking about a shut down, industry should learn to survive," said E S Jose, of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Kochi’s citizens are concerned that air pollution appears to be getting worse. “This kind of pollution is not familiar to Kochi. In some areas people are suffering with breathing difficulties and also burning sensation in the eyes. We are concerned about the situation and a lot of people are temporarily shifting to other places,” said Bitu George, a resident of Kochi.