A fire broke out again at the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant in Kerala’s Kochi, just a couple of weeks after a devastating blaze erupted in the same location, triggering more panic among the city’s residents.
The latest fire broke out at Sector 1 of the waste plant. Police said eight fire tenders have been pressed into service to douse the fire.
"A few fire tenders were already present at the plant to monitor the situation. Senior fire force officials, revenue department and city corporation officials are currently there," Ernakulam district collector N S K Umesh told the media.
He said that the fire would be completely extinguished by the end of the day and there was no cause for panic.
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A police officer said it was a minor incident and fire tenders are dousing it. State LSGD Minister M B Rajesh also told the media that the fire situation was under control.
"We had anticipated this and precautions were in place. There is nothing to worry about like the last one," he said.
However, according to a few media reports, smoke continued to rise from the waste plant.
The Brahmapuram dump yard was in news recently after a massive fire broke out on March 2 at the same plant resulting in a cloud of smoke that lasted for 12 long days and deteriorated the air quality in the port city of Kochi and neighbouring municipalities and gram panchayats. The entire region was engulfed in the dense smoke billowing from the garbage dump.
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The AQI surged above 300 and remained in the ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ category for several days.
The fire triggered political controversy in the state and even resulted in violent protests. Meanwhile, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore on the Kochi Corporation and asked them to pay it as compensation.
