Pallavaram careless about disposal of waste from Covid-19 patients

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.04.2020

The Pallavaram municipality is not following the due process in disposal of waste collected from houses under quarantine, allege residents and activists. A paramedic residing at Bharatipuram had tested positive and the area is under containment.

On Friday morning, sanitary workers with the municipality had collected waste from the patient’s house and instead of disposing it with due diligence, the workers just burned the waste bag at the burial ground in Ganapathipuram, according to activist David Manohar.

The waste collected from the Covid-19 patient’s house should be placed into a deep pit and then burned, an official with the municipality said.

However, workers climbed over the locked gate of the Ganapathipuram burial ground in Chromepet and burned the bag containing the waste near the gate, without digging a pit.

David Manohar, who was alerted of this, rushed to the scene and found that the workers had not followed the procedure.

“There is a way to do it. Even the municipality officials acknowledge that. But, their staff just burn it over ground and left. After I alerted the supervisors, two people were sent to take the half-burned stuff and dispose of it,” said David.

Pallavaram (Pallavapuram) municipal commissioner C Mathivanan noted that there has been clear instructions to all sanitary staff about ways to dispose of waste from quarantined houses and said he would inquire into the incident. According to another official, residents from quarantined houses have been requested to hand over used masks, gloves and other waste separately in a yellow bag and the waste is either sent to incinerator or burned in a deep pit.

“The workers have been working relentlessly for more than three weeks now. They have been asked to disinfect the waste after the waste bag is left outside by the resident. They are aware of the risks of not disposing it properly,” the official said.

The commissioner said there are chances the burned waste might have been from a house not under the containment zone.

The municipality falls under Chengalpet district which has 57 Covid-19 positive cases till date.