Nearly ₹1 crore penalty collected for illegal waste dumping
A penalty of ₹1.04 crore was collected from persons and establishments involved in illegal waste dumping in the State over the past one year.
As many as 9,078 violations were detected and punitive measures taken from March 2023 to April 2024.
Around singleuse seized over year, according to the Department of Local SelfGovernment.
Twentythree enforcement squads were formed in March 2023 to act against illegal waste dumping in public places and waterbodies.
The teams have conducted 33,405 inspections so far.
Nearly 77% of waste generated in the State is organic and the remaining 23% comprises inorganic waste, including 5% reject material that has a combustibility of 79.2%.
As much as 3,823 tonnes of waste per day is produced in urban local selfgovernment institutions (LSGIs) and 6,857 tonnes per day in rural LSGIs. Kerala produces a total of 10,680 tonnes of waste daily. Of the 3,823 tonnes of waste per day generated in urban LSGIs, 2,944 tonnes are biowaste. Non biowaste, including reject material, amounts to 879 tonnes per day.
It is celebration time for Kerala with IdUlFitr and Vishu falling within the same week. The occasion should have been doubly beneficial for firecracker stores from early April. However, it is not so due to a variety of reasons, business owners lament.
“Online sale of firecrackers has picked up momentum after COVID19 and is still going strong. Our business is slow this year too. We just started getting customers now,” said Kamal K.P., owner of Gamaya Fire Works at Puthiyangadi in Kozhikode. In the business for the past 20 years, Ka
Business is picking up at a slow pace at firecracker stores in Kozhikode with just five days left for Vishu.
mal said this season had been the slowest besides the two years hit by the pandemic. Mushrooming of stores during the season is also a downer for those who engage in the business regularly. “If Id had come
during the offseason, there would not have been this much competition,” said Gireesh V. of Thilakkam Fire Works at Athanikkal in the city. However, the general inflation in the market had not affected the firecracker industry, they said. “The price of crackers has not increased much. It is just that the public do not have enough money at their disposal to spend on firecrackers like in the previous years,” Mr. Gireesh said.
The season is, however, beneficial to college students in search of summer jobs. “I have hired 10 students at the store just for this season. They are really keen to work in fireworks stores for the perks,” Mr. Gireesh said jokingly.
Meanwhile, there has been a drastic change in the public’s choice of fireworks. “People are no longer interested in items that make a lot of noise. It is the spectacle they are looking for,” Mr. Kamal said. Thus the small fire fountains and its various varieties and rockets that burst into myriad colours in the sky are in great demand. “People have also become quite conscious about safety these days as they choose items that are safer for kids,” he added. Chinese crackers, which are reportedly not from China as most people believe, that are colourful and less noisy are also in great demand.
“The advancement in technology is reflected in fireworks too. The drone that hovers ahead spitting fire is greatly in demand this season,” Mr. Gireesh added.